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How Radiation Therapy
Causes Nausea & Vomiting
Understanding exactly how and why radiation is affecting your body will help you select the
best treatment to help you control your symptoms.
Nausea and vomiting are controlled by the nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), but
in different ways. Nausea is controlled by a part of the nervous system that controls the
body's automatic functions, like breathing. Vomiting is controlled by two areas of the brain:
the vomiting center, which has overall control of vomiting, and the Chemoreceptor Trigger Zone (CTZ),
which sends signals to the vomiting center, much like a radio transmitter.
The brain's vomiting center gets information from a number of places, including:
- the Chemoreceptor Trigger Zone (CTZ)
- senses, such as taste and smell
- emotions, such as fear and distress
- the inner ear
- the stomach
Radiation therapy causes nausea and vomiting in much the
same way as chemotherapy:
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Radiation to the stomach or small intestine causes the release of serotonin,
a chemical that helps turn on the brain's vomiting center, which has overall control of vomiting.
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Radiation therapy can also cause the histamine and other "messengers" that tell
the Chemoreceptor
Trigger Zone (CTZ) to stimulate the vomiting center to be released.
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Radiation to the brain can directly affect the CTZ or the vomiting center.
-
Nausea and vomiting associated with radiation therapy usually occurs 30 minutes
to several hours after treatment. Symptoms may be better on days that people do not
receive therapy.
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Side Effects | Symptom Relief
| Treatment Options | References
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