Influence of the overall treatment time in radiotherapy on the acute reaction: comparison of the effects of daily and twice-a-week fractionation on human skin

Journal Article · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984 · Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-3016(84)90291-8· OSTI ID:6667744

Turesson, I; Notter, G

A comparison of the acute skin erythema and pigmentation after daily fractions of 2 Gy and twice-a-week fractions of 4 Gy was performed on post-operatively irradiated parasternal fields in patients with breast cancer. The radiation quality used was electron beams with an energy of about 12 MeV. The overall treatment time varied between 4 and 6 weeks. The two schedules were also compared for an overall treatment time of 10 weeks, with a rest period of 3 weeks after 4 weeks of irradiation, followed by another 3 weeks of treatment. With 5 to 6 weeks irradiation, daily fractions resulted in a significantly more pronounced skin erythema than twice-a-week fractions. With 4 weeks irradiation and split-course therapy, the acute reactions were identical with both schedules. We interpret these findings as indicating a radiation-induced accelerated repopulation of the basal cells in the epidermis, with a fairly abrupt onset after 4 weeks. In conclusion, the overall treatment time is of importance of establishment of iso-effect relationships for acutely responding tissues. The implication is that different fractionation parameters used in models to predict equivalent radiation effects of different fractionation schedules also vary significantly with the overall treatment time.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Goteborg, Sweden
• OSTI ID: 6667744
• Journal Information: Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States), Journal Name: Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States) Vol. 10:5; ISSN IOBPD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550603 -- Medicine-- External Radiation in Therapy-- (1980-)
560151* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BEAMS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BODY
CELL PROLIFERATION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EARLY RADIATION EFFECTS
ELECTRON BEAMS
ENERGY RANGE
ERYTHEMA
FRACTIONATED IRRADIATION
IRRADIATION
LEPTON BEAMS
MEDICINE
MEV RANGE
MEV RANGE 10-100
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
ORGANS
PARTICLE BEAMS
PATIENTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOINDUCTION
RADIOLOGY
RADIOTHERAPY
SIDE EFFECTS
SKIN
SYMPTOMS
THERAPY
TIME DEPENDENCE