Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Aug;10(8):12-15.
Epub 2017 Aug 1.

RADIATION THERAPY for the Adjunctive Treatment of Surgically Excised Keloids: A Review

Nikoo Cheraghi  1 , Armand Cognetta Jr  1 , David Goldberg  1
Affiliations
Review

RADIATION THERAPY for the Adjunctive Treatment of Surgically Excised Keloids: A Review

Nikoo Cheraghi et al. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy has been used historically to treat a wide variety of dermatologie conditions, including nonmelanoma skin cancers, lymphomas, and inflammatory skin conditions. Recently, radiotherapy has been used increasingly as a valuable tool in the postsurgical treatment of large or recalcitrant keloids. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to explore the use of radiation therapy as an adjuvant to surgically excised keloids. DESIGN: A PubMed search of all published English literature regarding the applications of radiotherapy for the treatment of keloids was performed using a combination of keywords including radiation, radiotherapy, brachytherapy, electron beam, superficial radiation, orthovoltage radiation, and keloid. The results were analyzed and collated. RESULTS: A comprehensive review of radiotherapy for the adjuvant treatment of keloids was outlined. CONCLUSION: Radiotherapy appears useful as an adjuvant therapy to surgically excised keloids. Dermatologists should be well versed in radiotherapy to provide optimal care for patients with recalcitrant keloids.

Keywords: Radiotherapy; brachytherapy; electron beam; keloid; orthovoltage radiation; superficial radiation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

FUNDING:No funding was provided for this study. DISCLOSURES:Dr. Cognetta was an early advisor on the medical advisory board for Topex (now known as Sensus Healthcare) during the sale of the company, and organized an advisory board composed of a dermatologist, radiation oncologist, and medical physicist. He was given a stock option for his advisory role during the company’s formative stages in 2012. Drs. Cheraghi and Goldberg have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
Outlined keloid on the scalp before radiation therapy
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.
Resolved keloid on the scalp 6 months after excision and radiation therapy (1300cGY, 1 fraction, postsurgery)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gold MH, Berman B, Clementoni MT, et al. Updated international clinical recommendations on scar management: part 1--evaluating the evidence. Dermatol Surg. 2014;40:817–824. - PubMed
    1. Mustoe TA, Cooter RD, Gold MH, et al. International clinical recommendations on scar management. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2002;110:560–571. - PubMed
    1. Luo S, Benathan M, Raffoul W, et al. Abnormal balance between proliferation and apoptotic cell death in fibroblasts derived from keloid lesions. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2001;107:87–96. - PubMed
    1. Lee KS, Jung JB, Ro YJ, et al. Effects of x-irradiation on survival and extracellular matrix gene expression of cultured keloid fibroblasts. J Dermatol Sci. 1994;8:33–37. - PubMed
    1. Ji J, Tian Y, Zhu YQ, et al. Ionizing irradiation inhibits keloid fibroblast cell proliferation and induces premature cellular senescence. J Dermatol. 2015;42:56–63. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources