Relief for radiation therapy sought on the grapevine.

2003 MAR 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The humble grape could tackle a painful side effect of breast cancer radiotherapy for which there is currently no effective treatment.

A clinical trial funded by Cancer Research U.K. and conducted by the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research is to investigate the healing properties of grape seed on a potentially distressing side effect of high-dose radiotherapy called radiation fibrosis.

Thousands of breast cancer patients worldwide are affected by the condition in the years after radiotherapy. The changes result in breast tissue becoming harder and sometimes tender. This can cause patients inconvenience, and in some women the changes are severe and have a major impact on day-to-day life.

The latest radiotherapy techniques are safer and more effective against cancer, but the possibility of permanent side effects cannot be eliminated.

Radiation fibrosis is a type of scarring that causes tissue to become hard and stiff. In addition, it is thought that a buildup of fluid escaping from tiny blood vessels into the spaces between cells adds to hardness.

Royal Marsden consultant Professor John Yarnold is the principal investigator for the trial and is based at the Institute of Cancer Research. He said, "Radiotherapy is followed over the years by tissue hardening and tenderness in the breast and underlying muscles in some women. We aim to test if grape seed extract reverses these changes and improves patients' quality of life.

"If successful, we aim to conduct further clinical trials in radiotherapy patients cured of other cancers where fibrosis may cause other serious medical problems."