Interest of Supportive and Barrier Protective Skin Care Products in the Daily Prevention and Treatment of Cutaneous Toxicity During Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer

Abstract

Purpose:As many as 50% of patients with cancer develop acute skin reactions to some degree with radiotherapy. Proactive skin care is often recommended to minimise these skin reactions and maintain the integrity of the epidermal barrier; nevertheless, no consensual guidelines are systematically used. This multicentre, observational, prospective study evaluated the tolerability and benefit of supportive and barrier protective skin care products in preventing radiotherapy-induced skin reactions in 253 women initiating radiotherapy (exclusive or adjuvant) for breast cancer.Methods:Patients received a kit of 5 commercially available skin care products before the first radiotherapy treatment. The following variables were assessed: cutaneous adverse events, investigator-assessed skin reactions (oedema, erythema, dryness, desquamation) before and after radiotherapy course, investigator, and patient opinion on products benefit. Results were analysed by frequency of product use (heavy versus low).Results:Average age was 60 years (range: 34-85). Over 92% of patients reported good to excellent tolerance on irradiated skin for each product. During the 6-week radiotherapy period, we observed that heavy product users had less skin reactions than the low users, particularly within 10 days of radiotherapy initiation (8% versus 18%; p = .031). Positive physician’s opinion on product use was more frequent for high (66.6%) versus low (32%) users. Patient-assessed patient benefit index was generally >1, indicating relevant treatment benefit, with a tendency for better benefit in high versus low users.Conclusions:These results support recommendations to use skin care products to minimise the impact of secondary cutaneous reactions with radiotherapy cancer treatment.

Effectiveness and Tolerability of Natural Herbal Formulations in the Prevention of Radiation-Induced Skin Toxicity in Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

“…12,13 A review of randomized clinical trials revealed that there was no strong evidence that indicated differences between topical pharmacological interventions or nonpharmacological topical controls in the prevention of acute radiation dermatitis among patients with head/neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy, 14 while the combined use of various commercially available skin care products for the prevention of cutaneous toxicity during radiotherapy for breast cancer has been proven beneficial. 15…”

Evaluation of supportive and barrier-protective skin care products in the daily prevention and treatment of cutaneous toxicity during systemic chemotherapy

“…However, in a similar study, performed with breast cancer patients, 85% of patients had at least 1 skin toxicity appearing within 5 days from treatment initiation. 21 …”

US Cutaneous Oncodermatology Management (USCOM): A Practical Algorithm

“…Lacouture, J. Choi, A. Ho, J. Leventhal, et al includes skin hygiene, moisturization, sun protection, and, if applicable, camouflage products (Table 4). [46][47][48]50 Statement 8: Skin cleansing, skin hydration, and photoprotection should be considered in cancer patients and survivors to prevent and manage cutaneous side effects before, during, and after cancer therapy.…”

“…The skin care products used for patients undergoing cancer therapy should be safe, effective, free of additives, fragrances, perfumes, and sensitizing agents, and should have a near physiologic (skin surface) pH. 12,[46][47][48]50 The skincare regimen should be tailored to the individual patient, cosmetically pleasant, and easy to use (Box 4: Skincare instructions). 12,46,50 Various papers on prevention and treatment of cAEs using skincare for the specific cancer-treatments have demonstrated benefits.…”