Figure 1

Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat animals with cancer, including nasal tumors, anal sac adenocarcinomas and osteosarcomas. Examination and management of veterinary cancer patients after radiation therapy is often performed by medical oncologists, and usually involves frequent visits while acute effects are present. Acute radiation effects impact the patient’s quality of life; however, these side effects are self-limiting and effective management strategies are widely used by veterinary oncologists.

Despite the extensive advancements in radiation equipment and treatment planning, late radiation side effects will occur in a percentage of patients, and the risk of late effects may be increased when patients are re-irradiated or treated with concurrent chemotherapy. Late side effects include complications that adversely affect quality of life and are at times life-threatening. Patient follow-up months to years after radiation therapy is commonly directed at early detection of tumor recurrence, and frequency of scheduled follow-up examinations may vary widely between clinicians, even for the same tumor type. This may lead to lack of early detection of late effects. While management of late complications is less well understood than management of acute effects, earlier diagnosis of late effects and intervention with drugs such as pentoxifylline and tocopherol may lead to better outcomes and improved quality of life for patients.

This talk will summarize management of side effects of radiation based on available literature and anecdotal evidence from clinical experience. After the summary, a panel of four radiation oncologists will discuss their individual approaches to side effect management.