Introduction: MSCC happens among 5% patients (p) with cancer and worsens qualitive of live. The Radiotherapy (RDT) improves pain, and apllied within 24 of the diagnostic can improves the neurological sequels.
Purpose: To Know number palliative patients affected by MSCC in our cente.To Know symptom debut of the MSCC.To Know Karnofsky index (KI) in the moment of the diagnostic MSCC.To Know answer from the pain to the RDT, for different fractionation (frac).
Material and Methods: Our Hospital is one oncologist of reference into our area (2 millions residents) and we have approximate 100 beds of hospitalization for the differents service: palliative care, oncology, hematology.The palliative patients wiht MSCC were studied between 12/2002 until 03/2003. They received RDT with frac 3 Gyx10 day (30 Gy) those patients with good prognostic, and 4 Gyx 5 day (20 Gy) those patient whit worse prognostic.We take KI in the moment of diagnostic MSCC. The answer to the radiotherapy from the pain, was evaluated according to analogical visual scale (0-10).
Results: The 69 p: 46.3% were women, 53.6% were men.The KI to the debut was < or = 40 in 33.3%.Symptom debut was pain in 69.5%, weakness in 20.29%, pain and sensory dysfunction in 2.90%, sensory dysfunction 1.45% and paraplegic in 4.35%, and unknown 1.45%.The frac RDT were for 32 p (46.38%) 30 Gy, for 26 p (37.68%) 20 Gy and 11 p other fractionations.Pain was evaluated before and after Radiotherapy according to analogical visual scale (0-10): for the group 30 Gy, before radiotherapy was 3.48 and after radiotherapy was 0.55; for the group 20 Gy, before radiotherapy was 4.15 and after radiotherapy was 1.44.
Conclusion: Pain is most common symptom in MSCC.In a third the cases: the KI is smaller or similar to 40.The radiotherapy improves pain for MSCC in palliative patients in our centre and for differents fraccionations.