Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31873780›Full record

ArticleStrahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]2020

Radiotherapy for osteoarthritis-an analysis of 295 joints treated with a linear accelerator.

Matthias G Hautmann, Philipp Rechner, Ulrich Neumaier, Christoph Süß, Barbara Dietl, Franz Josef Putz, Michael Behr, Oliver Kölbl, Felix Steger

Abstract readEvaluation StudyMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al], 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
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  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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  9. Article
  10. Implementing a low-dose radiation therapy program for musculoskeletal pain disorders: tips, tricks, and essentials for clinical researchers.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025
    Review
  11. Low-dose Radiation Therapy (LDRT) in Managing Osteoarthritis: A Comprehensive Review.Current therapeutic research, clinical and experimental · 2025
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Low-dose radiotherapy of osteoarthritis: from biological findings to clinical effects-challenges for future studies.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2023
    Review
  14. Review
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  16. Low-dose radiotherapy for painful osteoarthritis of the elderly: A multicenter analysis of 970 patients with 1185 treated sites.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2021
    Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Matthias G HautmannDepartment of Radiotherapy, University of Regensburg, 94042, Regensburg, Germany. matthias.hautmann@ukr.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1039-0677
Philipp RechnerPrivat Clinic for Dentistry, Dr. Kreps, Ergoldsbach, Germany.
Ulrich NeumaierMVZ Dr. Neumaier & Kollegen, Regensburg, Germany.
Christoph SüßDepartment of Radiotherapy, University of Regensburg, 94042, Regensburg, Germany.
Barbara DietlDepartment of Radiotherapy, University of Regensburg, 94042, Regensburg, Germany.
Franz Josef PutzDepartment of Nephrology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Michael BehrDepartment of Prosthetic Dentistry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Oliver KölblDepartment of Radiotherapy, University of Regensburg, 94042, Regensburg, Germany.
Felix StegerDepartment of Radiotherapy, University of Regensburg, 94042, Regensburg, Germany.
University of Regensburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeOsteoarthritis is a common disease, with a prevalence of symptomatic disease of 8.9%. One treatment option is radiotherapy. Most published samples were treated with an orthovoltage technique or with a telecobalt device. A lot of radiotherapy institutions are nowadays using linear accelerators for treatment of osteoarthritis. There is a discussion on whether the treatment results achieved with a linear accelerator are comparable to those with the orthovoltage technique. The aim of this study is to analyze the results of radiotherapy for osteoarthritis with a linear accelerator and compare the results with reference to different joints. MATERIALS AND

methodsThe analysis was performed in patients of two German radiotherapy institutions and included 295 irradiated joints. Pain was documented with the numeric rating scale (NRS). Evaluation of the NRS was done before and directly after each radiation therapy course as well as for the follow-up of 24 months. The median age of the patients was 65 years, with 39.0% male and 61.0% female patients. Most frequently, osteoarthritis of the knee (34.6%) or the finger (15.9%) was treated.

resultsWe could find a significant response to radiotherapy. Median pain for the whole sample was 7 on the NRS before radiotherapy, 4 after 6 weeks, and 3 after 12 and 24 months. The percentage of patients with 0 or 1 on the NRS was 33.8% 12 months after radiotherapy. All investigated subgroups had a significant reduction of pain.

conclusionRadiotherapy of osteoarthritis with a linear accelerator is an effective treatment which is very well tolerated. All analyzed subgroups show a good response to radiotherapy for at least 24 months. Orthovoltage therapy seems to be superior to treatment with a linear accelerator in a case-related analysis of the published samples. Further investigations should be performed for a definitive answer to this question.

Indexed as

Particle AcceleratorsAgedAged, 80 and overDose Fractionation, RadiationFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedOrgan SpecificityOsteoarthritisOsteoarthritis, KneePain MeasurementRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeArthrosisLinear acceleratorOsteoarthritisOsteoarthrosisRadiotherapy

Identifiers

PMID31873780
OpenAlexW2995047154

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.