Bottesi Gioia, Stefanelli Antonio, Ambroso Giovanni, Baratto Gianni, Carraro Eleonora, Cristaudo Agostino, Giuntoli Laura, Maramaldi Giada, Meneghin Martino, Pozzati Genny, Semenzato Alessandra, Togni Stefano, Vidotto Giulio
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Radiotherapy Department, Ferrara Hospital, Ferrara, Italy.
Front Oncol. 2021 Apr 15;11:645921. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.645921. eCollection 2021.
Radiodermatitis is likely to be an inevitable side effect of radiotherapy (RT) but experiencing pain relief during RT might contribute making treatment more acceptable and less impairing. The current study aimed to assess the subjective perceptions and experiences of skin toxicity in a sample of women undergoing adjuvant RT for breast cancer.
Eighty patients were randomly assigned to one out of two groups: treatment (i.e., a newly developed topical product) and control (i.e., standard-of-care). Patients underwent adjuvant RT for 3 weeks. Clinical assessment of radiodermatitis and self-reported levels of pain, relief, and perceptions of treatment response were collected at the initiation of RT (T1), during RT (T2 and T3), and 2 weeks after treatment completion (T4). To assess changes in skin-related QoL, a subgroup of patients completed the Padua Skin-Related QoL questionnaire at T0 (before the initiation of RT) and at T4.
A comparable timing of onset and severity of radiodermatitis during treatment was observed in both groups. The treatment group reported lower levels of pain and higher levels of relief compared to the control group when skin toxicity was at its highest levels (T2 and T3). Independent of the group, levels of perceived improvements in clinical status increased over time, whereas skin-related QoL worsened from T0 to T4.
Current findings outline the relevance of integrating clinical evaluations of radiodermatitis with patients' subjective experiences of skin toxicity in interventional studies. Moreover, they provide preliminary evidence about the soothing effect of a newly developed topical product, thus supporting its usefulness of as a supportive care.
放射性皮炎可能是放射治疗（RT）不可避免的副作用，但在放疗期间缓解疼痛可能有助于使治疗更容易被接受且损害更小。本研究旨在评估接受乳腺癌辅助放疗的女性样本中皮肤毒性的主观感受和体验。
80名患者被随机分为两组：治疗组（即一种新开发的局部用产品）和对照组（即标准治疗）。患者接受3周的辅助放疗。在放疗开始时（T1）、放疗期间（T2和T3）以及治疗完成后2周（T4）收集放射性皮炎的临床评估以及自我报告的疼痛程度、缓解情况和对治疗反应的感知。为了评估与皮肤相关的生活质量的变化，一组患者在T0（放疗开始前）和T4完成了帕多瓦皮肤相关生活质量问卷。
两组在治疗期间放射性皮炎的发作时间和严重程度相当。当皮肤毒性处于最高水平时（T2和T3），与对照组相比，治疗组报告的疼痛程度较低，缓解程度较高。与分组无关，临床状况的感知改善水平随时间增加，而与皮肤相关的生活质量从T0到T4恶化。
目前的研究结果概述了在干预研究中将放射性皮炎的临床评估与患者皮肤毒性的主观体验相结合的相关性。此外，它们提供了关于一种新开发的局部用产品舒缓效果的初步证据，从而支持其作为支持性护理的有用性。
