Side effect of irradiation | Radiotherapy for breast cancer

Side effect of irradiation

The dose of 50 Gy is well tolerated by the majority of patients. Complaints that can often occur after radiotherapy are redness and hypersensitivity of the skin at the treated area. Reddening of the skin is an acute complication of radiotherapy.

It can manifest itself symptomatically as a burning sensation in patients. Frequently, inflammation or redness of the skin or mucous membrane is reversible. It is important that you inform your doctor about the consequential damage caused by radiotherapy.

It is recommended not to wash the affected skin frequently. Furthermore, massive drying of the skin irritates it more, which is why it is important to only dab it. Further mechanical irritation in the form of sunlight, perfume, deodorants or depilation should be avoided.

Instead, it is helpful to wear loose clothing, powder the skin at higher temperatures and apply ph-neutral unscented cream. However, when the treatment is finished, these will completely disappear. In addition, some people suffer from fatigue, exhaustion and discomfort – the so-called “radiation hangover” – after irradiation.

Women are much more often affected by a lack of menstruation (70%). In one per cent of cases, pneumonia can occur several weeks after irradiation with shortness of breath, dry irritable cough, haemoptysis and possibly fever. Like inflammation of the breast, this is rarely the case.

In 1-2 % of cases of very high absorbed dose, rib fractures or disorders of the nerves supplying the arms are described. This would only occur at energy doses of more than 50 Gray. Very rarely, permanent changes can occur, such as :

  • Scarring
  • Tanning (hyperpigmentation) of the skin
  • Dilated skin vessels or
  • A reduction of the breast

The radioactive rays during radiotherapy do not only hit the region or tumour to be treated, but also healthy cells and tissue.

Since the head of breast cancer patients is not in the radiation field, hair loss on the head is not an expected side effect. In contrast, the hairs under the arms are affected. It takes several months or years until the hair cells regenerate and emerge again.

While this is less of a problem in the armpits, the treating physician should inform or refer the patient to the doctor in the event of cranial radiation, for example if brain metastases occur, about the possibilities of hair loss. In radiotherapy, a distinction is made between acute radiation reactions and chronic radiation damage. Both can cause pain, depending on their severity.

The consequences of radiation depend very much on the radiation field. Skin reddening can be caused by long-term radiation. This does not necessarily lead to pain.

More unpleasant are arm or breast edemas, which are caused less by the radiation itself but by the operation. However, some patients also report pains in the breast and around the breast caused by the radiation, some of which last a long time. Selenium belongs to the trace elements.

It has an important function in many organs. Among other things, it plays an important role in the formation of thyroid hormones, in the maturation of sperm and in the interception of free radicals during oxidative stress. Thus, selenium can serve to protect healthy cells during radiotherapy.

During treatment with radioactive radiation, not only tumour cells but also neighbouring tissue is damaged and free radicals are produced in this process. These can additionally damage healthy tissue far away via the bloodstream. Selenium is able to absorb these free radicals and reduces the side effects of radiotherapy without weakening the effect.