The Efficacy of Photobiomodulation Therapy in Improving Tissue Resilience and Healing of Radiation Skin Damage

The increased precision, efficacy, and safety of radiation brachytherapy has tremendously improved its popularity in cancer care. However, an unfortunate side effect of this therapy involves localized skin damage and breakdown that are managed palliatively currently. This study was motivated by prior reports on the efficacy of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy in improving tissue resilience and wound healing. We evaluated the efficacy of PBM therapy on 36 athymic mice with I-125 seed (0.42 mCi) implantation over 60 days. PBM treatments were performed with either red (660 nm) or near-infrared (880 nm, NIR) LEDs irradiance of 40 mW/cm(2), continuous wave, fluence of 20 J/cm(2) once per week. Animals were evaluated every 7 days with digital imaging, laser Doppler flowmetry, thermal imaging, mu PET-CT imaging using F-18-FDG, and histology. We observed that both PBM treatments-red and NIR-demonstrated significantly less incidence and severity and improved healing with skin radionecrosis. Radiation exposed tissues had improved functional parameters such as vascular perfusion, reduced inflammation, and metabolic derangement following PBM therapy. Histological analysis confirmed these observations with minimal damage and resolution in tissues exposed to radiation. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the successful use of PBM therapy for brachytherapy. The results from this study support future mechanistic lab studies and controlled human clinical studies to utilize this innovative therapy in managing side effects from radiation cancer treatments.

Automated summary

The use of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy in radiation brachytherapy has shown promising results in reducing localized skin damage and improving healing. This study conducted on athymic mice demonstrated that both red and near-infrared PBM treatments significantly reduced incidence and severity of skin radionecrosis and improved functional parameters. This is the first report on the successful use of PBM therapy in brachytherapy.