ArticleStrahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]2021
Low-dose radiotherapy for painful osteoarthritis of the elderly: A multicenter analysis of 970 patients with 1185 treated sites.
Article in Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al], 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy, safety, and pain management of low-dose radiation therapy in osteoarthritis: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.Rheumatology international · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness of kilo- and megavoltage energies in low-dose radiotherapy for painful degenerative musculoskeletal diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2025Pooled it
- ArthroRad trial: randomized multicenter single-blinded trial on the effect of low-dose radiotherapy for painful osteoarthritis-final results after 12-month follow-up.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2024Trial
- Computer Tomography-Based Target Volume Delineation and Clinical Outcomes of Low-Dose Radiation Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Low-Dose Radiation Therapy for Osteoarthritis: Analysis of Preliminary Outcomes at Scripps Clinic.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Low-Dose Radiation Therapy (LDRT) for Osteoarthritis: A Retrospective Study of 94 Patients and 136 Joints Treated.Advances in radiation oncology · 2026Article
- Article
- KORT - Knee osteoarthrosis radiotherapy trial: Protocol for a multidisciplinary pathway and a planned sham-controlled phase III trial of low-dose radiotherapy in knee osteoarthritis.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Article
- Cancer Pain: Radiotherapy as a Double-Edged Sword.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Low-dose Radiation Therapy (LDRT) in Managing Osteoarthritis: A Comprehensive Review.Current therapeutic research, clinical and experimental · 2025Review
- From essential basic understanding to clinical application - biological, physical and pathophysiological principles of (low-dose) radiotherapy in benign diseases.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Low-dose radiotherapy for greater trochanteric pain syndrome-a single-centre analysis.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2024Article
- Low-dose radiotherapy of osteoarthritis: from biological findings to clinical effects-challenges for future studies.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2023Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePainful osteoarthritis is common in elderly patients, and low-dose radiotherapy has been demonstrated to provide effective symptomatic treatment. We examined the analgesic effects of low-dose radiotherapy for osteoarthritis in the elderly aiming to reveal potential differences in the response rates relating to increasing age.
methodsA retrospective analysis was performed at two university hospitals including elderly patients (≥ 65 years) undergoing radiotherapy for osteoarthritis between 2008 and 2020. Pain intensity and response were quantified using the numerical rating scale (NRS) and the Pannewitz score. Age groups were defined for young old (65-74 years), older old (75-84 years), and oldest old patients (≥ 85 years).
resultsIn all, 970 patients with 1185 treated sites and a median age of 76 years were analyzed. Mean NRS was 66 at baseline (t0), 53 after radiotherapy (t1), and 44 at first follow-up (t2) (p < 0.001 for t0-t1, t1-t2, and t0-t2). At t1, 1.5% exhibited a Pannewitz score of 0 (no pain), 58.5% of 1-2 (less pain), 36.1% of 3 (equal pain), and 3.9% of 4 (worse pain), while at t2, pain response shifted towards 6.9% (0), 58.6% (1-2), 28.1% (3), and 6.3% (4). Pain response did not differ between age groups at t1 (p = 0.172) or t2 (p = 0.684). In addition, pain response after re-irradiation (n = 384 sites) was 61.0% and was comparable between age groups (p = 0.535).
conclusionLow-dose radiotherapy results in pain reduction in about two-thirds of treated sites with no difference relating to increasing age, showing that radiotherapy is an effective analgesic treatment for osteoarthritis even at advanced ages.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.