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Testicular shielding in low-dose total body irradiation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 39, pages 247–248 (2007)Cite this article

Recently, we treated a 10-year-old boy with the diagnosis of severe aplastic anemia with total body irradiation (TBI) as part of an allogeneic sibling-matched bone marrow transplant. This was the second allogeneic sibling-matched transplant for this patient. TBI was used as part of the preparative regimen for the second transplant after the child suffered graft rejection after the first transplant.

Our prescribed radiation dose was 4 Gy (two fractions of 2 Gy each) delivered with 23 MV photons. With this relatively low dose and the absence of concern about the testicles as a sanctuary site, the possibility of testicular shielding to preserve fertility was discussed. To our knowledge, the concept and, more importantly, the technical aspects of testicular shielding in the setting of TBI have not been reported previously. We, therefore, undertook dosimetric measurements to determine the best technique to provide testicular shielding in a TBI patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    P R Sanghvi, D G L Kaurin, T L McDonald & J M Holland

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  1. P R Sanghvi
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  2. D G L Kaurin
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  3. T L McDonald
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  4. J M Holland
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Correspondence to J M Holland.

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Sanghvi, P., Kaurin, D., McDonald, T. et al. Testicular shielding in low-dose total body irradiation. Bone Marrow Transplant 39, 247–248 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705574

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