Cosmetic light therapy minimizes radiation dermatitis in ca patients.(Gynecology)

BOSTON -- A light-based therapy commonly used in cosmetic dermatology minimizes the occurrence and symptom intensity of radiation-induced dermatitis in breast cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment, according to the results of a recent investigation. The preventive therapy not only minimizes patient discomfort, but also prevents treatment interruptions necessitated by severe skin reactions, said Dr. M. Maitland DeLand at the annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

Postradiation dermatitis can include reactions ranging from mild to moderate dryness and peeling to significant erythema, hyperemia, and moist desquamation with loss of epidermal barrier, said Dr. DeLand, a radiation oncologist in Lafayette, La. The investigators hypothesized that targeting these areas with pulses of nonthermal low-energy light via arrays of light-emitting diodes (LED) would interrupt the postradiation inflammatory process and stimulate collagen synthesis, and by so doing strengthen the skin's defenses, she said.

In the pilot study, 18 of 19 women who received LED photomodulation therapy following radiotherapy for breast cancer had little to no radiation dermatitis, whereas all 28 matched controls who did not receive the light therapy had some degree of skin reaction, Dr. DeLand said.

The women in the study were 35-80 years old. Prior to radiation therapy, all had undergone single lymph node sampling or axillary dissection; some had chemotherapy. The women in the photomodulation group received the LED treatment immediately after their daily radiation therapy, and were allowed to use a neutral pH ointment for dry skin after each session. The women in ...