Brachytherapy is a cancer treatment in which a seed containing an ionizing radiation source is implanted directly within the tumour. The localized nature of brachytherapy enables delivery of high radiation doses to the target lesion while minimizing exposure of surrounding healthy tissues, reducing the risk of side effects. The treatment can, however, cause localized skin damage such as radiodermatitis and radionecrosis.
A research team headed up at University at Buffalo has investigated whether photobiomodulation (PBM) – a form of low-dose light therapy – could mitigate such skin damage. Motivated by reports on its efficacy for healing radiation damage and chronic wounds, the team demonstrated that PBM can speed tissue healing in mice with implanted iodine-125 (125I) brachytherapy seeds.
“To our knowledge, this is the first report on the successful use of photobiomodulation therapy for brachytherapy,” says senior author Praveen Arany in a press statement. “The results from this study support the progression to controlled human clinical studies to utilize this innovative therapy in managing the side effects from radiation cancer treatments.”. . . . (read more)
SOURCE: Physics World
