A pilot study using the Chinese herbal paste Liu-He-Dan to manage radiodermatitis associated with breast cancer radiotherapy

Abstract

Background During radiotherapy for breast cancer, patients are greatly affected by pain, infection, and delayed healing of wounds caused by radiodermatitis. In the present study, we aimed to determine the efficacy of Liu-He-Dan in treating radiodermatitis. Methods In 26 breast cancer patients who experienced moist decrustation while receiving radiotherapy, 5 g Liu- He-Dan was applied externally once daily after the wound surface had been cleaned and dried. The healing time was recorded, and a Kaplan–Meier survival curve was applied to analyze the treatment course. Meanwhile, a pain assessment using the Numeric Rating Scale (nrs) recorded the pain level experienced by patients after application of the Liu-He-Dan. Results After application of Liu-He-Dan, the average healing time for the surface of the moist decrustation wounds was 14.17 ± 2.03 days (range: 5–22 days). Inflammatory seepage decreased significantly and exudation almost disappeared in 3 days. The pain trend line indicated that the average nrs score declined with treatment in all patients. The average nrs scores at days 1, 4, and 7 were 6.13, 3.62, and 2.58 respectively. After 3 days of treatment, pain was remarkably alleviated in 80.76% of patients. After treatment for 1 week, the pain remission rate was 96.15%, without any obvious adverse reactions. Conclusions Liu-He-Dan was efficacious in treating radiation skin injury with little toxicity and few side effects; the economic efficiency of the treatment was also favourable. The Liu-He-Dan was generally well tolerated by patients. In future, randomized control trials will be established for further observation of the value of Liu-He-Dan in treating radiodermatitis in breast cancer.