Journal of Cancer Science and Research
Open Access

Osteoradionecrosis

Osteoradionecrosis is bone death due to radiation. The bone dies because radiation damages its blood vessels. Osteoradionecrosis is a rare side effect that develops some time after radiation therapy has ended. It usually occurs in the lower jaw, or mandible. most severe side effect of radiation therapy is osteoradionecrosis (ORN), or bone death. This condition occurs in three to ten percent of patients. Osteoradionecrosis develops as irradiation diminishes the bone’s ability to withstand trauma and avoid infection, and it can be facilitated by poor nutrition and hygiene. This process may be spontaneous or result from trauma, leading to non-healing soft tissue and bone lesions, followed by bone necrosis. The non-healing bone may become secondarily infected. yperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) was first proposed as a treatment for cancer and other conditions in the 1960s. At the time, research studies did not achieve any reproducible results, which engendered much skepticism among medical personnel.