Problems in wound healing associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are combined with surgery to treat locally invasive, nonresectable, or potentially metastatic tumors. The goal of combination therapy is to decrease the tumor burden with cytoreductive surgery so that residual tumor cells are more sensitive to adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy is most beneficial when given in the immediate perioperative period. However, surgical wounds are also susceptible to growth inhibition by these agents. This chapter reviews the potential problems associated with surgery in the cancer patient and the effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy on wound healing.