Radiation-induced toxicity is a major limiting factor for prescribing radiation dose in cancer radiotherapy. Skin reaction to radiation is one of the primary concerns, which could affect quality of life of the patients both physically and mentally. Reviews of the literature show limited number of effective reagents for its prophylaxis. In this study, we attempted to determine whether prophylactic treatment of the 3 different herbal creams containing Centella asiatica, Cucumis sativus, and Thunbergia laurifolia extracts as well as a commercial moisturizing cream could reduce acute skin reaction in breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. A total of 153 breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy were randomly assigned into 5 different groups with one group receiving no treatment. The patients were instructed to apply their designated creams once daily from their first radiotherapy session until 1-month post-irradiation. Their skins were graded by a radiation oncologist on a weekly basis until 1-month post-irradiation to identify any skin reactions. The results showed that the administration of the herbal creams or the moisturizing cream could neither reduce the severity nor delay the onset of dermatitis compared with the no treatment group. However, despite the limited benefits from the prophylaxis, the Cucumis sativus cream was shown to help with the skin recovery post-irradiation. These results suggested that breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy should be advised to apply moisturizing cream to the area of irradiated skin.

中文翻译：

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使用草药霜预防乳腺癌患者的辐射诱发性皮炎：一项前瞻性随机对照试验。

辐射诱导的毒性是癌症放射治疗中规定辐射剂量的主要限制因素。皮肤对辐射的反应是主要问题之一，它会影响患者的身心生活质量。文献综述显示用于其预防的有效试剂数量有限。在这项研究中，我们试图确定预防性治疗含有积雪草、黄瓜和秋葵提取物的 3 种不同草药霜以及商业保湿霜是否可以减少接受放疗的乳腺癌患者的急性皮肤反应。153 名接受放疗的乳腺癌患者被随机分为 5 个不同的组，一组不接受治疗。指导患者从第一次放射治疗到放射后 1 个月每天使用一次指定的乳膏。他们的皮肤由放射肿瘤学家每周进行分级，直到照射后 1 个月，以确定任何皮肤反应。结果表明，与未治疗组相比，服用草药膏或保湿霜既不能减轻皮炎的严重程度，也不能延缓皮炎的发作。然而，尽管预防措施的益处有限，但黄瓜霜被证明有助于辐射后的皮肤恢复。这些结果表明，应建议接受放射治疗的乳腺癌患者在受照射的皮肤区域涂抹保湿霜。他们的皮肤由放射肿瘤学家每周进行分级，直到照射后 1 个月，以确定任何皮肤反应。结果表明，与未治疗组相比，服用草药膏或保湿霜既不能减轻皮炎的严重程度，也不能延缓皮炎的发作。然而，尽管预防措施的益处有限，但黄瓜霜被证明有助于辐射后的皮肤恢复。这些结果表明，应建议接受放射治疗的乳腺癌患者在受照射的皮肤区域涂抹保湿霜。他们的皮肤由放射肿瘤学家每周进行分级，直到照射后 1 个月，以确定任何皮肤反应。结果表明，与未治疗组相比，服用草药膏或保湿霜既不能减轻皮炎的严重程度，也不能延缓皮炎的发作。然而，尽管预防措施的益处有限，但黄瓜霜被证明有助于辐射后的皮肤恢复。这些结果表明，应建议接受放射治疗的乳腺癌患者在受照射的皮肤区域涂抹保湿霜。结果表明，与未治疗组相比，服用草药膏或保湿霜既不能减轻皮炎的严重程度，也不能延缓皮炎的发作。然而，尽管预防措施的益处有限，但黄瓜霜被证明有助于辐射后的皮肤恢复。这些结果表明，应建议接受放射治疗的乳腺癌患者在受照射的皮肤区域涂抹保湿霜。结果表明，与未治疗组相比，服用草药膏或保湿霜既不能减轻皮炎的严重程度，也不能延缓皮炎的发作。然而，尽管预防措施的益处有限，但黄瓜霜被证明有助于辐射后的皮肤恢复。这些结果表明，应建议接受放射治疗的乳腺癌患者在受照射的皮肤区域涂抹保湿霜。