| Treatment Questions
What is "Total Body Irradiation" (Stem cell transplant treatment)?
Patients who are scheduled to undergo bone marrow transplantation (BMT) may undergo whole body irradiation prior to BMT. During TBI, the entire body receives a homogenous dose of radiation. Because the dose rate at which radiation is delivered is low (6 to 13cGy/min), a single treatment usually last for 20-30minutes. TBI may be one day or may last up to 4 days.
Non-myeloablative TBI: Patients who receive the one fraction (treatment) of TBI undergo non-myeloablative therapy. Non-myeloablative means that the radiation will not kill the bone marrow cells. This treatment is very well tolerated with few long-term side effects related to the radiation treatment.
Myeloablative TBI: Patients who receive the 3 to 4days of TBI undergo myeloablative therapy. Myeloablative means that the radiation kills the bone marrow cells. This treatment is well tolerated.
Side effects:
During treatment: Patients may have some fatigue, parotid tenderness, or nausea.
Long term: Risk of alopecia (hair loss), cataract formation, hypothyroidism, pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs), carditis (inflammation of the lining surrounding the heart), veno-occlusive disease of the liver (blockage of vessels in the liver), and sterility.
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