Will mesenchymal stem cells be future directions for treating radiation-induced skin injury?

Abstract

Radiation-induced skin injury (RISI) is one of the common serious side effects of radiotherapy (RT) for patients with malignant tumors. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are applied to RISI repair in some clinical cases series except some traditional options. Though direct replacement of damaged cells may be achieved through differentiation capacity of MSCs, more recent data indicate that various cytokines and chemokines secreted by MSCs are involved in synergetic therapy of RISI by anti-inflammatory, immunomodulation, antioxidant, revascularization, and anti-apoptotic activity. In this paper, we not only discussed different sources of MSCs on the treatment of RISI both in preclinical studies and clinical trials, but also summarized the applications and mechanisms of MSCs in other related regenerative fields.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; Radiation; Radiotherapy; Skin injury; Treatment.

Fig. 1

Four typical cases of radiation-induced skin injury. a Radiation-induced dermatitis appeared in a 61-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer (T3N0M0) after the third RT. b Radiation-induced dermatitis appeared in a 59-year-old female patient suffering from mammary cancer (T1N0M0) after four times of RT. c Radiation-induced skin ulcer appeared in a 57-year-old male patient who suffered from esophageal cancer (T4N0M0) after 9 times of RT and conventional dressing change. d Radiation-induced skin ulcer appeared in a 44-year-old male patient with diagnosis of mycosis fungoides after 6 times of RT together with conventional dressing change

Fig. 2

The molecular mechanisms of RISI

Fig. 3

The mechanisms of MSCs in the field of regenerative medicine (e.g., in wound repair)