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

Author(s)

Mosca, Rodrigo Crespo ^[1] ; Santos, Sofia Nascimento ^[2] ; Nogueira, Gesse Eduardo Calvo ^[3] ; Pereira, Daisa Lima ^[3] ; Costa, Francielli Campos ^[4] ; Pereira, Jonathas Xavier ^[5] ; Zeituni, Carlos Alberto ^[4] ; Arany, Praveen Ravindra ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] SUNY Buffalo, Sch Dent Med, Oral Biol Biomed Engn & Surg, 3435 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14214 - USA

^[2] Energet & Nucl Res Inst IPEN CNEN SP, CR Radiat Ctr, Ave Lineu Prestes 2242, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Energet & Nucl Res Inst IPEN CNEN SP, CLA Ctr Laser & Applicat, Ave Lineu Prestes 2242, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Energet & Nucl Res Inst IPEN CNEN SP, CTR Radiat Technol Ctr, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Biomed Sci, BR-21941590 Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PHOTONICS; v. 9, n. 1 JAN 2022.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/18268-2 - Development of radionecrosis animal model using 125I seed on low-power laser He-Ne treatment
• Grantee: Rodrigo Crespo Mosca
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/22349-3 - Brachytherapy combined with photobiomodulation for prevention of radionecrosis during cancer therapy
• Grantee: Rodrigo Crespo Mosca
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor