| Schedule | Constraint | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 45–50.4 Gy / 25–28 fx Pelvis ± nodal boost | Mean <15 Gy (aim <10 Gy) | EMBRACE II |
When the para-aortic nodes are treated.
Quoted from EMBRACE II, checked 2026-09-30. Full table with references →
Paired organs behind the peritoneum on either side of the spine, roughly from T12 to L3, with the right kidney usually a little lower than the left because of the liver. Each moves with breathing.
The kidneys filter the blood to make urine and help control blood pressure and red blood cell production.
The kidneys are parallel organs, and renal injury appears months to years after treatment as reduced function or hypertension. Limits are usually written for both kidneys combined, as a mean dose and a set of volume levels. When one kidney receives a high dose, protocols ask that the other be kept much lower — and if a patient relies on one kidney, or the two differ in function, a renal function scan may guide the plan.
In cervical cancer the kidneys matter when the para-aortic nodes are treated, because the extended field runs between them. EMBRACE II gives a mean-dose limit for this situation.
Jabbour 2014: the renal pelvis is generally included in the kidney contours for upper-abdominal treatment.
Timmerman 2022 (Tables 8–11, written for its SBRT dose tables) splits the kidney into two structures:
Check whether your limit refers to whole kidneys, the cortex or the hilum.
RTOG consensus guidelines and atlas for delineating upper abdominal normal organs. Citation checked against Europe PMC.
An editorial history of the UT Southwestern SABR constraint tables — often called the “Timmerman tables” — covering how they were developed and revised, and their relationship to AAPM TG-101 and NRG/RTOG protocols. Tables 2–11 separate serial tissues (listed with a volume, a volume max and a max point dose) from parallel tissues (listed with a critical volume and a critical-volume dose max). In Tables 2–7 a footnote defines “point” as ≤0.035 cm³; Tables 8–11 add a contouring-instructions column for each structure.