Analysis of complications of cervix carcinoma treated by radiotherapy using the Franco-Italian glossary.

We analysed the complications of 215 patients with uterine cervix cancer, treated by radiotherapy (RT) alone. It was done according to the rules of the Franco-Italian glossary, presented at the 7th ESTRO meeting, held in The Hague on September 1988. They were ranked by organ sites and by degrees of gravity. The analysis was done on the total number of complications and they were scored at the highest reached grade of gravity. Seventy one complications were found in 55 patients; they were studied by patient, degree of severity, time of onset, organ system and grade, time of onset and grade, time of onset and organ sites, stage and RT doses and brachytherapy volumes. The importance of the study of complications is stressed, particularly when treatment combines external RT and brachytherapy; some guidelines are given to avoid severe complications.