Definition
Radiation therapy is considered a necessary treatment for many types of tumor and is frequently used in the CNS for the treatment of primary brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations, small-cell lung cancer, high-risk leukemia, brain metastases, and other neoplasms. However, there are severe iatrogenic late effects of radiotherapy (XRT), which are very significant when they occur in the context of either partial brain fields or whole brain field. Late effects are defined as those occurring after the complete dose of XRT has been administered. XRT is used as an adjunct to surgical resection of the mass, which provides the best cure or prevention of recurrence. The curative effects are not always the goal, and it is also used as prophylaxis, and as palliation, that is, to prolong life expectancy.
Current Knowledge
Neurological effects
The late effects of XRT include risks of leukoencephalopathy, radiation necrosis (which is a rare but progressive mass lesion), and functional...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences and Readings
Armstrong, C., Gyato, K., Awadalla, A., Lustig, R., & Tochner, Z. (2004). A critical review of the clinical effects of therapeutic irradiation damage to the brain: The roots of controversy. Neuropsychology Review, 14(1), 65–86.
MacDonald, S. M., Trofimov, A., Safai, S., Adams, J., Fullerton, B., Ebb, D., et al. (2011). Proton radiotherapy for pediatric central nervous system germ cell tumors: Early clinical outcomes. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics, 79(1), 121–129.
Vigliani, M.-C., Duyckaerts, C., & Delattre, J.-Y. (1997). Radiation-induced cognitive dysfunction in adults. In C. J. Vecht (Ed.), Handbook of clinical neurology: Vol. 23(67), neuro-oncology (pp. 371–388). New York: Elsevier.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Armstrong, C.L. (2018). Late Effects of Radiation Therapy. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_121
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_121
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences