Improvement of skin care during radiotherapy

State-of-the-art radiotherapy, new insights into pharmacology and novel operating techniques require patient-oriented adaptation of care.

At the Radio-oncology Department of the Kaiser Franz Josef Spital, Vienna, a new skin care concept for patients undergoing radiotherapy was introduced in March 1999. This concept has subsequently been applied in all cases regardless of the diagnosis prompting referral (79 ENT, 305 breast, 134 prostate, 89 colorectal cancer and 751 other patients). Radiotherapy consisted of photon and/or electron radiation on the linear accelerator. The energy ranges were between 6 and 15 MV for photon therapy and between 6 and 12 MeV for electron radiation. Patients received an average total radiation dose of 50-66 Gy at single fractional doses of 1.8-2 Gy 5 times a week. Powdering of the skin was replaced by a moist skin care program. Patients were allowed to take cool whole-body showers without soap, including the irradiated skin areas, 3 times a week.

With the new skin care program dryness of the skin and resultant allergic skin reactions became less common. Broken skin an epitheliolysis were clearly reduced and superinfections were prevented.

Moist care of irradiated skin areas during radiotherapy thus improved radiation tolerance and patient acceptance.