Complications of thoracic radiation therapy

Complications of thoracic radiation therapy have significantly reduced since conventional radiotherapy has been largely replaced by modern conformational techniques. Even though, given the usually high radiation doses required for most thoracic cancers, some degree of collateral effects will be always present in the surrounding thoracic structures:

• lungs
  • radiation-induced lung disease
    • radiation pneumonitis
    • radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis
  • radiation-induced lung cancer
  • brachytherapy seed migration to the lung
• mediastinum
  • radiation-induced heart disease
  • thymic cyst
  • radiation-induced esophagitis
• soft tissues
  • radiation-induced breast changes
    • radiation-induced breast cancer
  • radiation-induced sarcomas (in particular, malignant fibrous histiocytoma)
• bony thoracic cage
  • radiation-induced bone marrow MRI signal changes
  • osteoradionecrosis
  • radiation-induced rib fracture
  • radiation-induced sarcomas (in particular, osteosarcoma)