More than half the number of patients with
cancer, who are treated with
radiotherapy, will have
radiodermatitis at some point during their treatment.
Radiodermatitis either occurs early on in the treatment period or appears months or up to several years later. Acute
radiodermatitis is a
burn injury that varies in severity according to both treatment and inherent patient factors. Most acute
radiodermatitis reactions resolve after several weeks but some reactions persist and can cause complications. Late-onset
radiodermatitis is characterized by
telangiectasia that forms on atrophic and fragile skin. These
radiodermatitis reactions can have a significant negative impact on concomitant and subsequent therapeutic protocols and most particularly on the patient's quality of life. Today, treatment of
radiodermatitis reactions is in its infancy. Although there is insufficient evidence available to form recommendations that would prevent or reduce
radiodermatitis, some advances have been made using
low level light therapy (
LLLT) or vascular
lasers to control the symptoms. Some recent preclinical and clinical research suggests that
LLLT has biostimulating properties which allow the tissues to regenerate and heal faster, reduce
inflammation, and prevent
fibrosis. Also, in late-onset
radiodermatitis pulsed dye laser treatment has been shown to be beneficial in clearing radiation-induced
telangiectasia. In the absence of evidence-based recommendations, the objective of this paper is to review how to prevent or manage the symptoms of
radiodermatitis reactions.