913 Testicular dose and function after para-aortic strip and dog-leg field radiotherapy for seminoma stage I

• Published in: European journal of cancer (1990) Vol. 31; p. S190
• Main Authors: Jacobsen, K.D., Fosså, S.D., Aas, N., Olsen, D.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.1995
• ISSN: 0959-8049; 1879-0852
• DOI: 10.1016/0959-8049(95)96162-7

During radiotherapy of testicular seminoma, the dose to the remaining testicle should be as low as possible to preserve the patient's fertility. Two different irradiation techniques have been applied: para-aortic strip (p.a.) or dog-leg field. Measurements of the testicular dose using the Alderson phantom to a dose of 30 Gy, show a mid-plane dose in the range of 7–13 cGy and 15–40 cGy depending on the distance of the testicle to the symphysis, for respectively the p.a. and the dog-leg field technique. In patients this distance was found to be 12 cm (mean), corresponding to a predicted testicular dose of 9.5 cGy (p.a. field) and 25 cGy (dog-leg field). This significant difference in testicular dose between the two treatment techniques, explains the reduction of sperm counts observed after dog-leg field radiotherapy, which is lacking after p.a. irradiation. The reduced spermatogenesis is accompanied by comparable changes in FSH.