الفهرس 
Radiotherapy with Its Acute & chronic (Late) EffectsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Radiation therapy is therapy using ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells. Radiation therapy may be curative in a number of types of cancer if they are localized to one area of the body. It may also be used as part of adjuvant therapy, to prevent tumor recurrence after surgery to remove a primary malignant tumor (for example, early stages of breast cancer) and as synergistic with chemotherapy.
Most side effects from radiation are predictable and expected, they are divided into acute and late effects. They are usually limited to the area of the patient’s body that is under treatment and are dose- dependent. Modern radiation therapy aims to reduce side effects to a minimum and to help the patient understand and deal with side effects that are unavoidable. The term radiation injury refers to the morphological and functional changes that occur in non-cancerous tissue as a direct result of ionizing radiation.
Radiation therapy causes significant side effects on skin. Pigmentary changes, erythema and epilation being the most common. Moist desquamation, Oral mucositis, xerosis and scalp alopecia are seen less often. Xerostomia, dry desquamation and ulceration are seen with further lower frequency. Atrophic changes like atrophy, fibrosis and telangiectasia are seen occasionally. Radiation-damaged tissue may cause serious wound-healing problems, either immediately or up to decades following radiotherapy treatment. Delayed Radiation ulcers are more common than acute ulcers; they heal slowly and may persist for several years. Some research has been carried out trying to minimize the effects of radiation on tissues to allow for normal healing.
Patients with radiation-induced ulcers are initially treated with narcotic analgesic agents, antibiotics, debridement, and local care. However, these conservative therapies are ineffective in most patients. The most crucial procedure is the complete resection of the radiation-affected area, followed by coverage with well-vascularized tissue. Many novel interventions are being investigated in animal models and in humans, e.g: Special dressings, injection of stem cells, topical administration of active substances and the use of growth factors and this is an exciting field of research that could have major benefits for the treatment of such wounds in the future.
Keywords: Radiation Skin Ulcers