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
. 2021 Nov 25;13(23):5928.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13235928.

Radiodermatitis and Fibrosis in the Context of Breast Radiation Therapy: A Critical Review

Sofiane Allali  1 , Youlia Kirova  1
Affiliations
Review

Radiodermatitis and Fibrosis in the Context of Breast Radiation Therapy: A Critical Review

Sofiane Allali et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Radiation therapy has been progressively improved in order to maintain a satisfactory tumour response, while reducing toxicity. We will review the incidence of radiodermatitis and fibrosis according to the various radiation and fractionation techniques. We will then focus on the various methods used to manage, prevent, and quantify this toxicity.

Method: More than 1753 articles were identified using the various search terms. We selected 53 articles to answer the questions addressed in this study according to criteria set in advance.

Result: The literature reports lower acute toxicity with IMRT compared to 3DCRT, but no significant differences in terms of late toxicities. Partial breast irradiation appears to be less effective in terms of local control with a higher rate of late toxicity. Intra operative radiation therapy appears to provide good results in terms of both local control and late toxicity. The hypofractionation has equivalent efficacy and safety to the normofractionated regimen, but with lower rates of radiodermatitis and fibrosis. The adddition of a boost, particularly a sequential boost, increases the risk of fibrosis and radiodermatitis during treatment.

Conclusion: The development of IMRT has significantly reduced acute toxicity and has improved tolerability during treatment. Modified fractionation has reduced treatment time, as well as adverse effects.

Keywords: 3D; IMRT; breast cancer; fibrosis; radiation therapy; radiodermatitis; radiotherapy; skin toxicities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow Chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tubiana M., Eschwège F. Conformal Radiotherapy and Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy--Clinical Data. Acta Oncol. 2000;39:555–567. doi: 10.1080/028418600750013249. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fourquet A., Campana F., Rosenwald J.C., Vilcoq J.R. Breast Irradiation in the Lateral Decubitus Position: Technique of the Institut Curie. Radiother. Oncol. 1991;22:261–265. doi: 10.1016/0167-8140(91)90160-I. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bergom C., Currey A., Desai N., Tai A., Strauss J.B. Deep Inspiration Breath Hold: Techniques and Advantages for Cardiac Sparing During Breast Cancer Irradiation. Front. Oncol. 2018;8:87. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2018.00087. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pandeli C., Smyth L.M.L., David S., See A.W. Dose Reduction to Organs at Risk with Deep-Inspiration Breath-Hold during Right Breast Radiotherapy: A Treatment Planning Study. Radiat. Oncol. 2019;14:223. doi: 10.1186/s13014-019-1430-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dueck A.C., Mendoza T.R., Mitchell S.A., Reeve B.B., Castro K.M., Rogak L.J., Atkinson T.M., Bennett A.V., Denicoff A.M., O’Mara A.M. Validity and Reliability of the US National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) JAMA Oncol. 2015;1:1051–1059. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.2639. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources