Fighting the Side Effects of
Radiation
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
If facing their cancer weren't enough, brain tumor
patients undergoing radiation also risk life-threatening infections such as
pneumonia as their immune systems are suppressed by the corticosteroids used to
ward off brain swelling and treatment-related headaches.
The researchers measured the number of certain
immune cells present in the blood of 82 brain cancer patients undergoing
radiation therapy. Patients whose counts fell below a certain level (200/mm3)
received prophylactic antibiotics. No patients developed pneumonia, other
serious infections or side effects from the antibiotic.
"It's important to follow how these patients
react to the high levels of corticosteroids given during their treatment,"
says Lawrence Kleinberg, M.D., assistant professor of oncology and neurological
surgery in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel
Cancer Center. In a future study, the research team will determine the most
appropriate CD34 monitoring schedule.