Is Radiation-Induced Fibrosis Progressive?

The chronic condition of radiation fibrosis develops after radiation therapy for cancer, sometimes months or years following the treatment. Typical areas exposed to radiation treatment include the chest wall, breast, neck, pelvis or limbs.

Function

• Radiation-induced fibrosis causes changes in the tissues below the skin, creating a tightness, which results in limited motion, swelling and weakness.

Timing

• Typically, fibrosis begins in patients about 12 to 18 months following radiation treatment, and the deep scarring of tissue is progressive.

Significance

• The extreme side effects of radiation therapy, particularly fibrosis, limit the amount of radiation physicians will use to fight cancer. Researchers are working on drug treatments that would reverse or control fibrosis, enabling stronger radiation treatments and higher cure rates.

Lung fibrosis

• Lung cancer in particular has a high rate of fibrosis from radiation treatment, affecting about half of all patients. In 2007, a study by the New York University Medical Center, was published that found a drug called a pharmaceutical monoclonal antibody prevented the occurrence of fibrosis following radiation therapy.

Other research

• Another study, by the University of Rochester and National Cancer Institute showed that 85 percent of the patients experienced some improvement after taking the drug pentoxifylline. It appears that the drug works by softening red blood cells, improving blood flow to the scarred area and reducing inflammation of the area of radiation-induced fibrosis.