Assessment of the Relationship between Absorbed Skin Dose and Chronic Dermal Side-Effects of Radiotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Solid Tumor Treatment Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

2 Specialist in Radiation Oncology, Solid Tumor Treatment Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

3 Specialist in Pediatric Allergy Allergy and Immunology, Allergy and Immunology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Considering the increasing incidence of breast cancer and patients’ delayed referral to healthcare centers, a large number of these patients are potential candidates for mastectomy and radiotherapy and will eventually suffer from early- or late-onset complications. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of chronic radiation-induced skin complications and its relation with radiation dose at skin surface in breast radiation of female patients with breast cancer.
Methods: Overall, 194 female patients with non-metastatic breast cancer, who had undergone locoregional radiation therapy of breast and regional lymph nodes during 1999-2009, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Chronic skin complications induced by breast radiation were assessed, based on the classification of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). For data analysis, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test were performed, using SPSS version 18. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Among 194 patients evaluated in this study, 55 subjects (28.4%) did not have any skin complications (grade 0). On the other hand, 50 (25.8%), 42 (21.6%), 16 (21.6%), and 31 (12.6%) patients had grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, and grade 4 complications, based on RTOG system, respectively. Our results showed that radiation dose at skin surface had a significant impact on the incidence of chronic skin complications. Moreover, increase in maximum skin dose was significantly correlated with chronic skin complications (P=0.009).
Conclusion: As the results indicated, radiation dose at skin surface during radiotherapy is significantly correlated with chronic skin complications, and this relation should be considered in treatment planning.

Keywords

References

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