Reducing Skin Side Effects in Patients Receiving Radiation on Tomotherapy

Background/Introduction; Head and neck cancers (HNC) are frequently treated with definitive radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, which are effective modalities for tumor control and organ preservation. However, these treatments are often associated with significant acute toxicities, particularly incidence of radiation dermatitis which is as high as 84%. Radiation-induced skin reactions are typically classified as acute, consequential-late, or chronic, with acute dermatitis being the most immediate and impactful during treatment. Studies reveal that acute radiation-dermatitis (ARD) occur within 24 hours but usually begin within days to weeks of initiating radiotherapy and is responsible for discomfort, pain, aesthetic changes, increased risk of infection, and potentially, treatment interruptions, thereby affecting both the patient's quality of life and therapeutic outcomes.

• Despite the clinical burden of radiation dermatitis, there is currently no universally accepted standard for its prevention or management. Established evidence supports the effectiveness of simplified, supportive care approaches, such as the Dermatitis Control Program (DeCoP), which focus on basic skin hygiene and maintaining a moist wound-healing environment during radiotherapy. This program demonstrated favorable outcomes in managing radiation dermatitis in patients with head and neck cancer.
• Clinical studies demonstrated that Moisturized skin care effectively reduced the severity and delayed the onset of radiation dermatitis, while also slowing down the decrease in skin moisture during radiotherapy.
• Additionally, barrier films such as Mepitel Film have shown promise in reducing ARD severity and moist desquamation. Systematic reviews and feasibility trials report benefit in breast and head/neck cancer patients. Including Mepitel Film as a comparator allows direct head-to-head testing of two evidence-based, guideline-consistent strategies.
• TomoTherapy, is a highly conformal and image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) technique. The system has shorter Source to Skin Distance (SSD) of 85cm and uses 6 MegaVoltage (MV) Flattening Filter-Free (FFF) energy which will increase the low energy photon contribution. Subsequently, one of the common side effects associated with this treatment is cutaneous toxicity, which can lead to skin irritation, erythema, and ulceration.

Hypothesis

• Use of fragrance-free emollient with absorbent dressing OR silicone barrier film, will reduce the severity of acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) with differential effects between interventions.
• While ARD significantly impacts patient well-being and clinical outcomes, standardized preventive care protocols remain inconsistent or under-researched in TomoTherapy. This study addresses that gap by evaluating a practical, low-cost intervention- fragrance-free emollient (glycerol-based) from day 1 + absorbent polyurethane foam dressing versus silicone-based semi-permeable barrier film applied from day 1-for its effectiveness in reducing skin toxicity and improving patient quality of life during TomoTherapy.

Methodology This is a prospective, randomized, controlled, two-arm clinical trial evaluating strategies to mitigate radiation-induced skin toxicity in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undergoing TomoTherapy.

Design:

Parallel-group design with 1:1 allocation using computer-generated block randomization, stratified by chemotherapy status.

Masking:

Open-label design; outcome assessors (radiation oncologists grading dermatitis) will be blinded where feasible.

Sample Size:

Approximately 104 patients (52 per arm) to detect a 20% absolute reduction in Grade ≥2 dermatitis incidence (from 55% to 35%) with 80% power and α = 0.05, accounting for 10% attrition.

Data Collection:

Weekly (Day 1,7,14,21,28,35) CTCAE skin assessments documented in MOSAIQ. QoL instruments (EORTC QLQ-C30 v3 and QLQ-HN35) administered at Baseline (Day 1), mid-treatment (Day 17), and end-of-treatment (Day 35).

Clinical and treatment data recorded in an encrypted Excel database.

Ethical Considerations:

All participants receive at least standard of care (STDoC). Written informed consent required prior to radiotherapy. Data are anonymized and securely stored.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients aged 18 to 80 with newly diagnosed head and neck (H&N) carcinoma (confirmed by pathology)
• Must be receiving radiotherapy using Tomotherapy

Exclusion criteria

• Prior H&N radiotherapy
• pre-existing skin disease
• allergy to study products.