Radiation Therapy: Patient Safety and Clinical Performance

Subcutaneous fibrosis is one of the belated consequences after radiation in cancer patients and often represents a dose limiting factor. In many cases it produces a loss of mobility of the affected member, pain and edema. So far there is no standardized pharmacological intervention in that process. The objective of this work is to define a therapeutic standard which allows increase the radiation dose, improve clinical results and reduce the adverse effects of treatment with ionizing radiation.

A one year prospective cohort study was performed in a Spanish public hospital. The study population were patients with fibrosis subcutaneous tumor clinically detectable after treatment with ionizing radiation. Pentoxifylline was administered at doses of 600 mg/12 hours, oral alpha-tocopherol at doses of 400 mg/12 hours and omeprazole 20 mg/24 hours. The parameters used for the valuation of the scar area, before and after drugs were: size of each linear scar area; grading scales according fibrosis clinics and thickness of each scar area through ultrasound.

The average size of scar area reduced after drug treatment (9.1 versus 7.1). The average dermo epidermical thickening and fibrosis of the area, measured with ultrasound, also reduced (3.3 mm and 0.32 cm2 versus 2.6 mm and 0.24 cm2 respectively). The measurement of the palpable scar area and the gradient of fibrosis didn't experience any change. These improvements were reflected in an increased patients' satisfaction and a decrease of the adverse effects after radiation treatment.