Locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix associated with pelvic kidney treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy: Overcoming a therapeutic challenge

The simultaneous occurrence of carcinoma of the cervix and pelvic kidney is rare. As the pelvic kidney occupies the conventional radiation portal for carcinoma of the cervix, treatment of these patients with radiation presents a therapeutic challenge. A 48-year-old stage IIIB cervical carcinoma patient with an incidental diagnosis of pelvic kidney was treated with radical chemoradiotherapy using intensity-modulated radiotherapy with concurrent weekly cisplatin, followed by intracavitary radiotherapy. The bilateral kidney dose was restricted within a tolerance limit of 16.6 Gy. At the 18-month follow-up, the patient was disease free and had no deterioration in kidney function. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy provided the necessary means for delivering radical radiation doses in this case scenario with adequate sparing of the kidney.