The cytoprotective effect of amifostine in acute radiation dermatitis: a retrospective analysis

To study the impact of amifostine as a cytoprotective agent against acute radiation dermatitis, we reviewed 220 patient records. One hundred cancer patients, with tumors localised in the pelvis (bladder, rectum, prostatic carcinomas, or gynecological cancer), who received radiotherapy and cytoprotective treatment with intravenous infusion of amifostine (group A) were included in this study. Retrospectively, we randomly selected from a database in our hospital 120 historical controls, who received only radiotherapy without cytoprotection (group B). Mean gross dermatitis score (MGDS) was the mean value of recorded acute radiation dermatitis according to common toxicity criteria. In group A versus B patients, a significantly reduced severity of dermatitis (P < 0.001, Fisher's exact test) and significant reduction of MGDS as well as mean interruption treatment time (P < 0.001, Mann-Whitney U test) was observed. The relative risk of the outcome of the two study groups was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.15 to 0.34). The significant dermato-cytoprotective effect of amifostine noticed in our retrospective analysis warrants further investigation with randomised trials.