ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Radiotherapy plays an important adjuvant role in the surgical treatment of breast cancer by reducing locoregional recurrence and improving overall survival. However, up to 95% of patients experience some degree of radiodermatitis. This study aims to review the literature regarding topical agent therapies in preventing and treating acute radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients.
Methods:
Integrative review of LILACS, Medline and Cochrane Library databases. We searched for original articles published between 2010 and 2020, including the descriptors breast neoplasms, radiodermatitis, skincare, and skin cream.
Results:
The initial search returned 158 articles. After screening for eligibility, 48 articles were included. Forty different topical agent therapies were identified and grouped into seven categories to facilitate data analysis: herbal medicines, hormones/vitamins/growth factors, topical corticosteroids, barrier products (film or cream), hyaluronic acid, silver-based dressings and others.
Conclusions:
This review identifies that topical corticosteroids of high (betamethasone-17-valerate) and medium potency (mometasone furoate 0.1%), as well as barrier films such as Mepitel®, Mepilex Lite®, and Hydrofilm®, are effective in managing acute breast radiodermatitis. The other topical agent therapies did not show benefits in preventing and/or treating acute radiodermatitis or have limited evidence.
Keywords:
Breast neoplasms; Radiodermatitis; Skin care; Skin cream; Review
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