Mny good questions but difficult to answer. I can only give my honest opinion but I am not a MD. Answers see below "A:"

Wolfgang

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1. I read that Essen tells patients less than one percent risk of cancer and less than one percent risk of leukemia following radiation therapy for DD. If one is having radiation to the finger, is there more of a chance of the bone being radiated and therefore more of a risk for leukemia or other systemic problems?
A: you might want to read the Dupuytren article of the boook edited by Seegenschmiedt et al, link ist on http://www.dupuytren-online.info/radioth...literature.html . I don't think it would make much of a difference but I also wouldn't think that the modelling is that detailed. Any estimate is necessarily based on a model, there are no hard data because cancer hasn't ever been observed after Dupuytren treatment and you would need many such cases to make a reliable statistics. Fortunately we don't have them.

Has anyone had radiation to a finger nodule/cord and therefore was told anything about this by their doctor?
I think both "Newman" and "Wach" reported radiation to fingers.
A: I had finger exposed but no one ever mentioned a difference.

2. What margin around the nodule was there? I'm guessing about 1/2-1 inch (1-2cm) on either side, is this correct?
A: yes

3. If a linear accelerator is used instead of the orthovoltage like Essen, is there more of a chance of having the bone exposed to radiation?
A: ?

4. Would there be any advantage to spreading out the treatment to more days in order to reduce side effects of dryness, etc. For example, if one is getting 15Gy--instead of 3Gyx5days, what about a day off between treatments or even two days off?

What about making it 1.5Gyx10 days? Would that be of any help?
A: maybe. Some clinics are using treatment on 2 consecutive days (4 Gy each) and then 6 weeks break, another 2 days etc. here are no published data how much difference that makes in terms of reducing side effects and of reducing efficiency of the treatment. Reseacrh is still on-going and there is still some heuristics involved.

Thanks for help in answering any or all of these questions

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Hi Guest-Australia Calling. It is good that you are making these enquiries as it is important to feel comfortable in yourself before having any Radiotherapy.I would recommend Clicking Radiation Therapy on left margin -open 'Side effects ' then 'Literature'. Professor Seegenschmiedt has given permission to publish extracts from Radiotherpy for Non-Malignant Disorders. Click on the link- Page 176 will address your question on the application of RT.You will see that when using linear accelerators a bolus (filter) is used , which controls the depth to be treated- eg 0 to 10 mm. Page 179 looks at Risks. You do not mention your age, which is a factor. In my case I had Radiotherapy to selected areas and not whole of hand.Hope this helps .