Abstract
Background
In the current study, we sought to evaluate and compare the objective changes in biophysical
parameters and patient-reported outcomes following radiation therapy (RT) in patients
with breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery (BCS) or modified radical
mastectomy (MRM).
Materials and methods
Patients older than 18 years, with stage I to III breast cancer, who were expected
to receive RT were recruited between August 2015 and March 2019. Skin hydration, sebum
content, pigmentation, and elasticity of the irradiated and unirradiated breast or
chest wall were assessed using a noninvasive bioengineering device. Assessments were
performed before the initiation of RT (T0); after the 5th (T1), 15th (T2), and 25th
(T3) fractions; and 1 (T4) and 3 months (T5) after the completion of RT. Patient-reported
outcomes were also evaluated using Radiation Dermatitis Assessment for Breast Cancer
11.
Results
Hydration and sebum levels on the irradiated breast decreased during RT and had not
returned to baseline at T5. Erythema on the irradiated breast increased two-fold between
T0 and T3, and melanin levels were significantly higher than those at baseline and
those of the contralateral unirradiated breast until T5 (106.0 vs. 115.8, P = .03). More than half of the patients continued to report skin color changes, dryness,
and pain after RT. The erythema in the irradiated site at T1 was significantly higher
in the MRM group than in the BCS group (P for interaction = .04), while there were no significant differences in the changes
of the other parameters.
Conclusion
RT-induced changes in hydration, sebum, and melanin, and the majority of patient-reported
pain, color changes, and dryness, even 3 months after the completion of treatment.
There were no remarkable differences in the measurable skin parameters according to
the surgery type, with the exception of erythema, which was higher in the MRM group
1 week after the start of RT.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 19, 2021
Accepted:
June 28,
2021
Received in revised form:
May 24,
2021
Received:
November 3,
2020
Footnotes
Yoo and Kang contributed equally to this paper.
Key Message: Surgery type did not differentiate the biophysical properties of radiation-dermatitis in the breast cancer patients.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Published by Elsevier Inc.
