Mednet Logo

Do you ever consider a dose constraint to the spleen when treating lung tumors with stereotactic radiotherapy?

I am treating a left lower lobe NSCLC and my PTV is so close to the spleen that a small portion of the spleen is getting significant dose. I cannot find mention of guidelines in the literature for evaluating the safety of this situation.
3 Answers
Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Radiation Oncology · Mayo Clinic
Answered on

Spleen-schmeen. :) Which is a non-professional way so say I think it’s okay to treat it. If you consider we used to remove them for Hodgkin Lymphoma, they are important organs but not crucial. If you’re treating a corner of it (which I have done many times) you will be safe IMO. It’s not hollow visc...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer

Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Radiation Oncology · University of Colorado School of Medicine
Answered on

I think the question sets up another question, namely under what circumstances (if any) might it be advisable to offer pneumococcal vaccination to someone treated for a splenic metastasis (admittedly quite uncommon, of course). Given how seldom we treat the spleen nowadays with conventional RT for l...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer

Mednet Member
Mednet Member
Radiation Oncology · Radiation Oncology Associates PA
Answered on

I agree with @Dr. First Last re: considering vaccination.

I routinely offer vaccination to patients with distal esophageal/GEJ tumors and for others with significant splenic RT dose. From Dr. Norm Coleman and Dr. Henry Kaplan in NEJM (1980) re: splenic atrophy https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7350...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer