Survival of patients with radiation enteritis of the small and the large intestine.

We reviewed the clinical and survival data of 108 consecutive patients who presented with radiation enteritis between 1965 and 1981. One hundred and two (94%) had been irradiated for carcinoma of the cervix uteri. The median follow-up was of 11 years. The median time of occurrence of severe radiation-induced lesions (obstruction, perforation) after radiotherapy was of 18 months, against 10.5 months for mild symptoms (e.g., tenesmus) and 9 months for rectal bleeding (p < 0.001). Cox survival analysis taking into account the stage of the cancer and the age at diagnosis showed that rectal bleeding is a factor with a prognosis significantly poorer than the mild symptoms (p = 0.05), equivalent to that of the severe complications. We conclude that in the evaluation of patients who underwent radiotherapy for abdominal or pelvic tumours, rectal bleeding should be considered as a sign of serious radiation-induced complication.