Previous pelvic radiotherapy risk factor for B12 deficiency

20^th July 2023

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have published their first ever draft guidelines for diagnosing and managing B12 deficiency:

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH AND CARE EXCELLENCE Guideline: Vitamin B12 deficiency in over 16s: diagnosis and management Draft for consultation, July 2023

We are really pleased to see that ‘previous pelvic radiotherapy’ has been is highlighted as a risk factor for developing a B12 deficiency.

We regularly hear from people, living with Pelvic Radiation Disease (PRD), who have developed a B12 deficiency. One of the symptoms of B12 deficiency reported to us most often is unexplained fatigue. It is important to remember that fatigue is not exclusive to B12 deficiency and if you do experience unexplained fatigue please do get in touch with your healthcare team. You can find a link to our symptom checklist on our resources page which you may find helpful to take with you to discuss any symptoms you are experiencing.

A list of PRD symptoms can be found on our ‘What is Pelvic Radiation Disease?‘ page