Radiobiology of bladder urothelium clinical significance : an overview

Abstract EN

Despite the fact that the bladder urothelium has a slow turnover rate, it can express a transient acute effect presenting as reduced bladder storage capacity.

This is thought to be due to radiation-induced functional and biochemical changes leading to increased bladder tone and is unrelated to cell proliferation.

Late radiation effect can be either (1) a consequential damage resulting from the biochemical intracellular changes of early damage, (b) primary late damage resulting from a late expression of urothelial cell death or stromal and vascular changes resulting from liberation of growth factors, principally the TGF-β.

For early effects the (α / β ratio is estimated to be range from 11-12 Gy as in a typical early reacting tissue while for late reactions an estimate of 5-6 Gy has been made suggesting less sensitivity to variations in the fraction size than most late reacting tissues.

Local instillation of formalin and hyperbaric oxygen provide useful therapeutic measures for late radiation bladder reactions.