Light therapy fast-tracks healing of skin damage from cancer radiation
therapy

Date:
January 27, 2022
Source:
University at Buffalo
Summary:
Light therapy may accelerate the healing of skin damage from
radiation therapy by up to 50%, according to a recent study.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Light therapy may accelerate the healing of skin damage from radiation
therapy by up to 50%, according to a recent University at Buffalo-led
study.


==========================================================================
The research found that photobiomodulation -- a form of low-dose light
therapy -lowered the severity of skin damage from radionecrosis (the
breakdown of body tissue after radiation therapy), reduced inflammation, improved blood flow and helped wounds heal up to 19 days faster.

The findings, published on Dec. 28 in Photonics, follow prior reports
on the effectiveness of light therapy in improving the healing of burn
wounds and in relieving pain from oral mucositis caused by radiation
and chemotherapy.

The research was led by Rodrigo Mosca, PhD, visiting fellow from the
Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) and the Federal University
of Rio de Janeiro, both in Brazil. Carlos Zeituni, PhD, professor at
IPEN and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, is a senior author.

"To our knowledge, this is the first report on the successful use of photobiomodulation therapy for brachytherapy," said senior author Praveen Arany, DDS, PhD, assistant professor of oral biology in the UB School of
Dental Medicine. "The results from this study support the progression to controlled human clinical studies to utilize this innovative therapy
in managing the side effects from radiation cancer treatments."
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a radiation source
is implanted within the cancer tissue, exposing surrounding healthy
tissue to lower doses of radiation than through teletherapy, a form which
fires a beam of radiation through the skin to reach the tumor. Although brachytherapy has improved the precision and safety of cancer care,
skin damage is still an unfortunate side effect.

Similar to burn wounds, radionecrosis may cause inflammation and scarring
and hinder blood flow. Current treatments to manage radionecrosis include routine wound care, pain medication and, in some cases, surgery.

Previous research conducted by Arany's lab found that photobiomodulation promotes healing by activating TGF?beta 1, a protein that controls cell
growth and division by stimulating various cells involved in healing,
including fibroblasts (the main connective tissue cells of the body that
play an important role in tissue repair) and macrophages (immune cells
that lower inflammation, clean cell debris and fight infection).

The new study, completed in an animal model, examined the effectiveness
of both near-infrared and red LED light at improving the healing of skin
damage during radiation therapy.

Without photobiomodulation, wounds took an average of 61 days to
heal. Using near-infrared light therapy, healing occurred within an
average of 49 days.

Healing occurred the fastest when using red light therapy, at an average
of 42 days.

"For over 40 years, photobiomodulation has been known to accelerate the
healing of acute and chronic wounds, triggering cellular processes that
control inflammation, pain signaling, and tissue regeneration and repair,"
said Mosca.

Research suggests that the effects of photobiomodulation does not extend
to tumor cells, likely due to their perturbed metabolic and regulatory signaling, adds Arany.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_at_Buffalo. Original
written by Marcene Robinson. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Rodrigo Crespo Mosca, Sofia Nascimento Santos, Gesse Eduardo Calvo
Nogueira, Daisa Lima Pereira, Francielli Campos Costa, Jonathas
Xavier Pereira, Carlos Alberto Zeituni, Praveen Ravindra
Arany. The Efficacy of Photobiomodulation Therapy in Improving
Tissue Resilience and Healing of Radiation Skin Damage. Photonics,
2021; 9 (1): 10 DOI: 10.3390/ photonics9010010 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220127104305.htm

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