Wang Yong, Wu Jun, Wang Ya, Song Weiyuan, Ren Hongjian, Han Xu, Dong Xiaoqi, Guo Zhiqiang
Oncology Department, Shanxi Fenyang Hospital, Lüliang City, Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
Nuclear Medicine Department, Shanxi Fenyang Hospital, Lüliang City, Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
Cancer Manag Res. 2025 Jul 17;17:1433-1440. doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S525791. eCollection 2025.
Radiation-induced brain injury (RBI) encompasses the severe symptoms resulting from radiation-induced damage to the normal tissue surrounding tumors in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck malignancies. The primary symptoms include skin erythema, pain, and may extend to headache, syncope, nausea, vomiting, memory impairment, alterations in mental status, visual disturbances, drowsiness, and other neurological abnormalities localized to the area of treatment. These side effects both limit the effectiveness of radiation therapy and reduce the patient's quality of life. During radiotherapy, while killing tumor cells, the radiation will damage the cerebral microvascular endothelial cells, cause cerebrovascular inflammatory response, destroy the blood-brain barrier, aggravate the cerebral oxidative stress response, and induce apoptosis of nerve cells. This review summarizes the mechanisms underlying the occurrence and progression of radiation-induced brain injury and discusses promising strategies for prevention and treatment that may be applicable to clinical patients suffering from this condition.
放射性脑损伤（RBI）包括在接受头颈部恶性肿瘤放疗的患者中，因辐射对肿瘤周围正常组织造成损伤而产生的严重症状。主要症状包括皮肤红斑、疼痛，还可能扩展至头痛、晕厥、恶心、呕吐、记忆障碍、精神状态改变、视觉障碍、嗜睡以及局限于治疗区域的其他神经异常。这些副作用既限制了放射治疗的效果，又降低了患者的生活质量。在放疗过程中，辐射在杀死肿瘤细胞的同时，会损伤脑微血管内皮细胞，引发脑血管炎症反应，破坏血脑屏障，加剧脑氧化应激反应，并诱导神经细胞凋亡。本综述总结了放射性脑损伤发生和进展的潜在机制，并讨论了可能适用于患有这种疾病的临床患者的预防和治疗的有前景的策略。
