PARAMETERS OF SMALL-BOWEL DYSFUNCTION IN CERVICAL-CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY

Small bowel dysfunction is an important problem in patients undergoing radiotherapy for cervical cancer and may take many forms. The spectru m of small bowel dysfunction includes subtle findings such as malabsor ption and more obvious complications such as obstruction and fistula f ormation. Predicting who will experience small bowel dysfunction is im portant so that prospective studies of these compications can be plann ed. We undertook a controlled retrospective review of patients with st age IB cervical carcinoma looking for parameters of small bowel dysfun ction and their predictors to help in the design of a prospective stud y. This analysis suggests that the interval to development is long. Th e best predictor of diarrhea requiring medication was the number of la parotomies. A large sample size of stage IB patients would be necessar y to prospectively study small bowel dysfunction in this population.