VOLUME 16 - NUMBER 2 / March - April (Clinical case / Caso clínico)
Miguel Ángel Berenguer-Francés, Servicio de Oncología Radioterápica, Hospital Sant Joan d´Alacant, Sant Joan d´Alacant (Alicante), España
Introduction: Magnesium deficiency is a common entity in cancer patients owing to cisplatin-containing chemotherapeutic schemes. Combination with radiotherapy in certain tumors where the gastrointestinal tract is part of the treatment field can elicit this entity. Clinical case: The case is presented of a 35-year-old woman diagnosed with uterine cervix cancer on treatment with concomitant chemotherapy plus radiotherapy. Owing to the tumor extension and lymph node involvement, the radiation treatment field was broad, with important doses at the level of the small intestine. During treatment, the patient had important diarrhea due to magnesium deficit. Results: Testing for hypomagnesemia is not common in clinical practice, but it should be contemplated in patients on treatment with cisplatin-containing chemotherapeutic schemes and extended-field pelvic radiotherapy. Discussion: Knowing this
entity and providing adequate treatment can prevent quality of life deterioration in affected subjects and possible early treatment discontinuation due to poor tolerance.
Keywords: Magnesium. Cervical cancer. Radiotherapy.
