French experience in paediatric total body irradiation: A study from the radiotherapy committee of the Société française des cancers de l'enfant (SFCE)

• Published in: Cancer radiothérapie Vol. 20; no. 4; pp. 304 - 307
• Main Authors: Demoor-Goldschmidt, C, Supiot, S, Claude, L, Carrie, C, Mazeron, R, Helfré, S, Alapetite, C, Jouin, A, Coche, B, Padovani, L, Muracciole, X, Bernier, V, Vigneron, C, Noël, G, Leseur, J, Le Prisé, É, Stefan, D, Habrand, J L, Kerr, C, Bondiau, P Y, Ruffier, A, Chapet, S, Mahé, M A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: France 01.06.2016
• Subjects: Anesthesia, General - statistics & numerical data; Child; France; Humans; Organs at Risk; Patient Positioning - statistics & numerical data; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data; Radiation Protection - statistics & numerical data; Radiotherapy Dosage; Surveys and Questionnaires; Whole-Body Irradiation - statistics & numerical data; Pédiatrie; Paediatric; Allogreffe; Total body irradiation; Allograft; Irradiation corporelle en totalité
• ISSN: 1769-6658
• DOI: 10.1016/j.canrad.2016.02.011

A survey was conducted in 2015 in France on the care of children in radiotherapy services. We present the results for total body irradiation in children, a specific technique of radiation treatment, which needs dedicated controls for this particular population. Of the 17 centres interviewed, 16 responded, and 13 practiced total body irradiation. Patients are positioned in lateral decubitus in 11 centres and supine/prone in two centres. Doses used for total body irradiation in myeloablative bone marrow transplantation are the same in all centres (12Gy); treatments are always fractionated. Lung shielding is positioned to limit the dose at an average of 8Gy with extremes ranging from 6 to 10Gy. The shape of the shieldings varies depending on departments' protocol, with a smaller size in case of mediastinal mass. Four centres have experience of total body irradiation under general anaesthesia, despite twice-daily fractions. In total, practice is relatively homogeneous throughout France and is inspired by the knowledge obtained in adults.