Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy?
Low-dose radiotherapy had historically been used to treat both bacterial and viral pneumonias. In the present day, this is not in use due to the development of antibiotics and other supportive measures as well as a concern regarding late radiation toxicities. COVID-19 presented us with a novel respi...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Radiation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/5/2/19 |
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| author | Leonie Eastlake Prakash Thanikachalam David Cameron Dimitri Dimitroyannis Wanda Ingham Pascoe Mannion Gillian Clarkson Aashish Vyas Anthony Chalmers Dennis Hadjiyiannakis |
| author_facet | Leonie Eastlake Prakash Thanikachalam David Cameron Dimitri Dimitroyannis Wanda Ingham Pascoe Mannion Gillian Clarkson Aashish Vyas Anthony Chalmers Dennis Hadjiyiannakis |
| author_sort | Leonie Eastlake |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Low-dose radiotherapy had historically been used to treat both bacterial and viral pneumonias. In the present day, this is not in use due to the development of antibiotics and other supportive measures as well as a concern regarding late radiation toxicities. COVID-19 presented us with a novel respiratory illness without a strong evidence-based best practice; it was thought, therefore, that there may be a role for low-dose radiotherapy in the absence or failure of a standard treatment. The rationale for this was based around the ability of low-dose radiation to reduce an inflammatory state. We treated two individuals suffering from severe COVID-19 with low-dose whole lung radiotherapy, in the setting of a phase I trial. Both patients improved clinically, biochemically, and radiologically within a matter of days. We discuss why the meta-analyses may not have shown this advantage. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a71d91e1e32f476ab21a003a809091f3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2673-592X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Radiation |
| spelling | doaj-art-a71d91e1e32f476ab21a003a809091f32025-08-20T03:16:38ZengMDPI AGRadiation2673-592X2025-06-01521910.3390/radiation5020019Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy?Leonie Eastlake0Prakash Thanikachalam1David Cameron2Dimitri Dimitroyannis3Wanda Ingham4Pascoe Mannion5Gillian Clarkson6Aashish Vyas7Anthony Chalmers8Dennis Hadjiyiannakis9Department of Oncology, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Truro TR1 3LJ, UKDepartment of Urology, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, UKNational Institute of Health and Care Research Lancashire Clinical Research Facility, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, UKDepartment of Radiology, Edward Hine Jr. VA Hospital, Chicago, IL 60141, USAPanthera Biopartners, Preston PR2 9QB, UKDepartment of Infectious Disease, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Wythenshawe, M23 9LT, UKDepartment of Radiotherapy, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, UKSchool of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UKDepartment of Oncology, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, UKLow-dose radiotherapy had historically been used to treat both bacterial and viral pneumonias. In the present day, this is not in use due to the development of antibiotics and other supportive measures as well as a concern regarding late radiation toxicities. COVID-19 presented us with a novel respiratory illness without a strong evidence-based best practice; it was thought, therefore, that there may be a role for low-dose radiotherapy in the absence or failure of a standard treatment. The rationale for this was based around the ability of low-dose radiation to reduce an inflammatory state. We treated two individuals suffering from severe COVID-19 with low-dose whole lung radiotherapy, in the setting of a phase I trial. Both patients improved clinically, biochemically, and radiologically within a matter of days. We discuss why the meta-analyses may not have shown this advantage.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/5/2/19SARS-CoV-2COVID-19coronaviruslow-dose radiotherapyrespiratory tract infectionsviral pneumonia |
| spellingShingle | Leonie Eastlake Prakash Thanikachalam David Cameron Dimitri Dimitroyannis Wanda Ingham Pascoe Mannion Gillian Clarkson Aashish Vyas Anthony Chalmers Dennis Hadjiyiannakis Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy? Radiation SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 coronavirus low-dose radiotherapy respiratory tract infections viral pneumonia |
| title | Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy? |
| title_full | Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy? |
| title_fullStr | Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy? |
| title_short | Low-Dose Radiotherapy for Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease—Have Meta-Analyses Accounted for Dose and Timing of Radiotherapy? |
| title_sort | low dose radiotherapy for severe covid 19 lung disease have meta analyses accounted for dose and timing of radiotherapy |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 coronavirus low-dose radiotherapy respiratory tract infections viral pneumonia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/5/2/19 |
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