Radiation Therapy for Castleman Disease
Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cells. It is sometimes used to treat localized Castleman disease (CD), especially if the affected lymph nodes can’t be removed completely with surgery. Radiation can also be used as part of the treatment for multicentric CD.
Before your treatment starts, the radiation team will take careful measurements to find the correct angles for aiming the radiation beams and the proper dose of radiation. This planning session, called simulation, usually includes getting imaging tests such as CT or MRI scans.
Radiation therapy is much like getting an x-ray, but the radiation is much stronger. The treatment itself is painless. It lasts only a few minutes, although the setup time – getting you into place for treatment – usually takes longer. You might get radiation treatment for several days in a row.
Possible side effects
Depending on where the radiation is aimed, side effects may include:
- Skin changes in areas getting radiation, ranging from redness to blistering and peeling
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Low blood counts
Most side effects go away a short while after treatment ends, although fatigue and skin changes may last longer. Talk with your doctor about the possible side effects and the ways to reduce or relieve them.
Even though Castleman disease is not a cancer, radiation is often used in the same way as it is when people have cancer. To learn more, see Radiation Therapy.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Lurain K, Yarchoan R, Uldrick TS. Treatment of Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus-associated multicentric Castleman disease. Cancer Sci. 2017;9 [Epub ahead of print].
National Cancer Institute. Physician Data Query (PDQ). AIDS-related lymphoma treatment. 10/02/2015. Accessed at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/adrenocortical/hp/adrenocortical-treatment-pdq on January 11, 2018.
National Cancer Institute. Castleman disease. Accessed at https://seer.cancer.gov/seertools/hemelymph/532b3e3fe4b0626b1926ec92/ on
January 10, 2018.
National Comprehensive Cancer Network. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: B-cell lymphomas. v.7.2017. Accessed at https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/neuroendocrine.pdf on January 11, 2018.
National Organization for Rare Disorders. Castleman disease. Accessed at https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/castlemans-disease/ on January 5, 2018.
Sarana B, Jaal J, Tamm H, Laisaar T. Resection of unicentric interlobar Castleman disease with following adjuvant radiotherapy. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2017;5:2050313X17744481.
van Rhee F, Greenway A, Stone K. Treatment of idiopathic Castleman disease. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2018;32(1):89-106.
Last Medical Review: January 20, 2017 Last Revised: February 5, 2018
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.