Kim JH, Kolozsvary AJ, Jenrow KA, Brown SL, et al.
International journal of radiation biology. Date of publication 2013 May 1;volume 89(5):311-8.
1. Int J Radiat Biol. 2013 May;89(5):311-8. doi: 10.3109/09553002.2013.765055. Epub
2013 Feb 5.
Mechanisms of radiation-induced skin injury and implications for future clinical
trials.
Kim JH(1), Kolozsvary AJ, Jenrow KA, Brown SL.
Author information:
(1)Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI 48202-2689,
USA.
PURPOSE: To summarize current knowledge regarding mechanisms of radiation-induced
skin injury and medical countermeasures available to reduce its severity.
Advances in radiation delivery using megavoltage and intensity modulated
radiation therapy have permitted delivery of higher doses of radiation to
well-defined tumor target tissues. Although skin is not a radiation dose-limiting
tissue, injury to skin poses substantial morbidity risks in the curative
treatment of cancers, especially when radiation is administered in combination
with chemotherapy. In the continuum of radiation-induced skin injury, late
effects are most severe being characterized by sub-cutaneous fibrosis and
morbidity. The principal pathogenesis is initiated by depletion of acutely
responding epithelial tissues and damage to vascular endothelial microvessels.
Emerging concepts of radiation- induced skin injury suggest that the recovery of
stromal stem cells and tissue repair remain chronically impaired by long-lived
free radicals, reactive oxygen species, and pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines
resulting in progressive damage after radiation exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: As pathways underlying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of
radiation-induced skin injury are becoming better understood, novel approaches
are being developed for mitigating or treating the associated pathogenesis.
DOI: 10.3109/09553002.2013.765055
PMID: 23305180 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
