Effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy in radiation dermatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Beatriz Regina Lima de Aguiar; Eliete Neves Silva Guerra; Ana Gabriela Costa Normando; Carolina Castro Martins; Paula Elaine Diniz Dos Reis; Elaine Barros Ferreira

doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103349

Effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy in radiation dermatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2021 Jun:162:103349. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103349. Epub 2021 May 11.

Authors

Beatriz Regina Lima de Aguiar¹, Eliete Neves Silva Guerra², Ana Gabriela Costa Normando³, Carolina Castro Martins⁴, Paula Elaine Diniz Dos Reis⁵, Elaine Barros Ferreira⁶

Affiliations

¹ Health Science Graduate Program, School of Health Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: beatrizregina.rla@gmail.com.
² Laboratory of Oral Histopathology, School of Health Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: elieteneves@unb.br.
³ University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: gabinormando@gmail.com.
⁴ Dental School, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: carolcm10@hotmail.com.
⁵ Nursing Department, School of Health Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: pauladiniz@unb.br.
⁶ Nursing Department, School of Health Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. Electronic address: elainebf@unb.br.

PMID: 33989768
DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103349

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in the prevention and treatment of radiation dermatitis (RD).

Methods: A systematic review was conducted using seven databases and the gray literature. We performed a meta-analysis to summarize the effect sizes of response rates (RRs).

Results: We included seven clinical trials. Breast cancer patients receiving PBMT developed more grade 1 RD than the control group (RR 1.55, 95 % CI 1.14-2.10, I² = 51 %). PBMT appears to prevent RD grade 2 (RR 0.33, 95 % CI 0.09-1.23, I² = 85 %) and RD grade 3 (RR 0.21, 95 % CI 0.05-0.94, I² = 0%) with very low certainty of evidence.

Conclusions: There is very low certainty of evidence that PBMT was effective in the prevention of RD. However, PBMT showed a significant effect to prevent grade 3 RD in breast cancer patients. Thus, further randomized clinical trials are required to confirm the promising effect of PBMT in RD.

Keywords: Laser therapy; Low-level light therapy; Meta-analysis; Photobiomodulation; Radiodermatitis; Radiotherapy.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Breast
Breast Neoplasms* / radiotherapy
Female
Humans
Low-Level Light Therapy*
Radiodermatitis*