Myopathy in Post-Radiation Cervico-Scapular Syndrome

Post-radiation myelopathy and brachial plexopathy have been well established in the literature. In recent years there have been several reports of myopathy in association with radiation therapy (RT) for Hodgkin’s disease. Cervical paraspinal and shoulder girdle muscles are within the radiation portal for Hodgkin’s disease, and most patients with radiation-induced myopathy exhibit weakness and atrophy of these muscles, sparing distal muscles and cranial nerves. Onset of these symptoms typically occurs from two to thirty years after radiation.