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Review
. 2020 Nov 27:11:2040622320970354.
doi: 10.1177/2040622320970354. eCollection 2020.

Gastrointestinal side effects of cancer treatments

Mary O'Reilly  1 , Gregory Mellotte  1 , Barbara Ryan  1 , Anthony O'Connor  2
Affiliations
Review

Gastrointestinal side effects of cancer treatments

Mary O'Reilly et al. Ther Adv Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Cancer survival rates have significantly improved over the last number of years due to advancements in cancer therapies. Unfortunately this has come at a cost. Therapeutic side effects are feared complications of therapy that may result in decreased quality of life and early cessation of the therapy, which can have knock-on effects on outcomes. This article outlines the main gastrointestinal side effects seen with radiation therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and discusses appropriate investigation and management.

Keywords: Cancer; Chemotherapy; Colitis; Enteritis; Gastrointestinal side effects; Hepatitis; Immunotherapy; Proctitis; Radiotherapy; Typhilitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: Anthony O’Connor: advisory boards for AbbVie, Mylan and Jannsen; speaker fees from Takeda, Tillotts and Bristol Myers Squibb; research and educational grants from Mylan and Pfizer.

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