Radiation myelopathy following transplantation and radiotherapy for non- Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

Background: Combined modality therapy with chemotherapy and radiotherapy has become increasingly popular in the management of solid malignancies. However, unexpected toxicities may arise from their interactions. Methods and Materials: We report the case of a young woman with a large mediastinal non- Hodgkin's lymphoma who underwent high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation and involved field radiotherapy, and who developed radiation myelopathy after a latent period of only 3 months. The spinal cord dose did not exceed 40.3 Gy in 22 fractions over 4.5 weeks, which is well within accepted tolerance limits. She had no other identifiable risk factors for radiation myelop..