A man being treated for pelvic cancer suffered major injuries following a radiotherapy accident caused by missing a previous treatment.
- A patient receiving radiation therapy for recurrent cancer suffered serious injuries from an overdose of radiation, requiring surgical treatment.
- According to the ASN, the doctors did not take into account the man’s previous sessions.
- An analysis of the file is underway to identify “the defense barriers that did not work and the corrective actions to be implemented to reduce the risk of a similar event occurring”.
A patient treated for a recurrence of cancer experienced a tragic episode during his external radiotherapy treatment. According to the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), which published a press release On July 15, 2024, the doctors in charge allegedly did not take into account the previous radiotherapy sessions, leading to a significant overdose.
What is radiotherapy?
“External beam radiotherapy is a treatment technique that uses ionizing radiation generated by a particle accelerator to destroy cancer cells, details the ASN. Ionizing radiation is administered to the area to be treated in one or more fractions, delivered over one or more days.”
Radiation overdose: serious consequences
The accident occurred during the summer of 2023 at the Oncorad Garonne oncology-radiotherapy center in Toulouse, during a treatment consisting of 38 sessions of 2 grays of external radiotherapy. It was several months after the end of the treatment that the lesions were detected, requiring immediate and surgical management for the patient.
Increased vigilance during radiotherapy treatments
This incident was categorized at level 4 out of 7 on the ASN-SFRO scale, i.e. a “serious life-threatening event, complication or disabling aftereffectLevel 5 corresponds to the death of the patient.
According to the ASN, this highlights the seriousness of the situation and the need for a thorough analysis of the causes to avoid future dramatic events of this type. It is essential that healthcare professionals take into account all elements of a patient’s medical file with strict control measures.
“Following this event, the radiotherapy centre has initiated an in-depth analysis of the circumstances and causes of the accident by the multidisciplinary feedback committee, which will identify the defence barriers that did not work and the corrective actions to be implemented to reduce the risk of a similar event occurring.”, the statement said.
Check out our digital video book,
only account creation is required to access it.
