Radiation proctitis

Radiation proctitis

Radiation therapy is used in the treatment of cervical, prostate and rectal cancers. It can produce acute radiation proctitis with bleeding, pain, diarrhoea and defecatory frequency . Most symptoms settle within a few weeks, but some patients develop chronic proctitis with symptoms appearing months or even decades after the radiation exposure. Bleeding may require treatment with argon laser photocoagulation performed using a flexible sigmoidoscope.