5-Minute Emergency Consult
Radiotherapy Complications
Basics
Description
- Radiation therapy (RT) targets cancerous cells but frequently damages surrounding normal tissue
Etiology
- Ionizing radiation damages DNA and leads to cell death both in malignant and normal cells
- Effects generally localized to irradiated anatomical area and dose dependent
- Acute injury within 1–2 wk, late injury months to years after RT
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Radiotherapy Complications." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 7th ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2027. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307708/2.1/Radiotherapy_Complications_.
Radiotherapy Complications. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2027. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307708/2.1/Radiotherapy_Complications_. Accessed June 26, 2026.
Radiotherapy Complications. (2027). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (7th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307708/2.1/Radiotherapy_Complications_
Radiotherapy Complications [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2027. [cited 2026 June 26]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307708/2.1/Radiotherapy_Complications_.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Radiotherapy Complications
ID - 307708
ED - Barkin,Adam Z,
ED - Shayne,Philip,
ED - Rosen,Peter,
ED - Schaider,Jeffrey J,
ED - Barkin,Roger M,
ED - Hayden,Stephen R,
ED - Wolfe,Richard E,
BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult
UR - https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307708/2.1/Radiotherapy_Complications_
PB - Wolters Kluwer
ET - 7
DB - Emergency Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
