It is estimated that there will be 670,000 new cases of cancer worldwide in 2020-2022 and it is known that the most commonly instituted treatments in cancer are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. However, these treatments have undesirable side effects, such as Radiodermatitis after Radiotherapy (RD). In fact, the prevalence of possible side effects after radiotherapy is estimated to be 80 to 90%. Radiotherapy complications are associated with a negative impact on patients' quality of life and few supportive measures are available for such complications. Thus, the management of these side effects has been studied in the literature until the present day. On the other hand, Photobiomodulation (PBM) has an important role in wound repair and tissue regeneration, as it influences the different phases of lesion resolution, including the inflammatory phase, the proliferative phase and the remodeling phase. Thus, the aim of this study is to report a case series of Cancer Patients diagnosed with radiotherapy-induced acute radiodermatitis on Palliative Care, treated with PBM. This is a case series report and the study data will be extracted from the medical records of forty cancer patients with grade 2 or 3 RD followed up from September 2023 at the Laser Therapy Outpatient Clinic in a Universitary Hospital. The outcomes are the size of the lesion, the presence of pain assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Portuguese Version of WHOQOL BREF Scale and the RTOG Scale (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Scale) to assess the degree of Radiodermatitis before and after PBM therapy. The data will be subjected to a statistical analysis and will be discussed. Data with positive or negative results will be reported.
It is estimated that there will be 670,000 new cases of cancer worldwide in 2020-2022 and it is known that the most commonly instituted treatments in cancer are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. However, these treatments have undesirable side effects, such as Radiodermatitis after Radiotherapy (RD). In fact, the prevalence of possible side effects after radiotherapy is estimated to be 80 to 90%. Radiotherapy complications are associated with a negative impact on patients' quality of life and few supportive measures are available for such complications. Thus, the management of these side effects has been studied in the literature until the present day. On the other hand, Photobiomodulation (PBM) has an important role in wound repair and tissue regeneration, as it influences the different phases of lesion resolution, including the inflammatory phase, the proliferative phase and the remodeling phase. Thus, the aim of this study is to report a case series of forty cancer patients on palliative care diagnosed with radiotherapy-induced acute radiodermatitis Grade 2or 3, treated with PBM. This is a case series report and the study data will be extracted from the medical records of patients with grade 2 or 3 RD followed up from September 2023 at the Laser Therapy Outpatient Clinic in a Universitary Hospital. The outcomes are the size of the lesion, the presence of pain assessed by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Portuguese Version of WHOQOL BREF Scale and the RTOG Scale (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Scale) to assess the degree of Radiodermatitis before and after PBM therapy. The assessment will be done pre-treatment, weekly during PBM therapy and post-treatment. The PBM therapy are focal low-level laser therapy, 1 to 3 Joules per point, depending on the degree of pain, wavelength 633 to 685 nm, transcutaneously on the surface of the tissue injured by radiotherapy, three times a week during radiotherapy treatment and two more applications after the end of radiotherapy The data will be subjected to a statistical analysis and will be discussed. Data with positive or negative results will be reported.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Focal low-level laser therapy, Red Laser (wavelength 633 nm to 685 nm), or Infrared Laser Laser (wavelength 780 nm to 830 nm), with a low-intensity laser equipment of 100 mW and a cross-sectional area of the device beam of 0.0434 cm². The parameters are 1 to 3 J per point, with equidistant points of 1.5 to 2 cm, covering the entire length of the open lesion. Therapy is carried out every 48 hours until the total wound healing, regardless of the number of sessions required.
Universidade Nove de Julho / Post-Graduate program Biophotonics Applied to Health Sciences
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Toxicity criteria of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Scale (RTOG Scale)
RTOG scale assess the degree and intensity of RD. It identifies degree 0 (no reaction), 1 (faint erythema, dry desquamation, epilation, diminished sweating), 2 (moderate, brisk erythema, exudative dermatitis in plaques and moderate edema), 3 (exudative dermatitis, besides cutaneous folds and intense edema) and 4 (ulceration, hemorrhage, necrosis).
Time frame: Change from Baseline at 14 days after end of radiotherapy treatment]
Lesion Size
Evaluation of lesion measurement in centimeters
Time frame: Change from Baseline at 14 days after end of radiotherapy treatment]
Portuguese version of The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF)
The WHOWOL BREF scale assess multidimensional aspects of geral quality of life of patients. The multidimensional scale is composed by 26 items, classified from 1 to 5 according to the intensity of the symptom presented. The global score is calculated by adding up all the items as well as the score for each domain is evaluated adding it individually for each item, which can range from 0 to 130,
Time frame: Change from Baseline at 14 days after end of radiotherapy treatment]
Visual Analog Scale of Pain
VAS Scale assess the pain intensity. The VAS consists of a 10cm line, with two end points representing 0 ('no pain') and 10 ('pain as bad as it could possibly be').
Time frame: Change from Baseline at 14 days after end of radiotherapy treatment]
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