Interventions for Radiation-Induced Fibrosis in Patients With Breast Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses
Regiane Mazzarioli Pereira Nogueira, Flávia MR Vital, Daniel Galera Bernabé, Marcos Brasilino de Carvalho
Abstract
Purpose: Radiation therapy can affect normal tissues in patients with breast cancer, causing adverse effects such as fibrosis. Although there are several interventions for radiation-induced fibrosis, the efficacy of these procedures is still unclear. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of interventions for radiation-induced fibrosis in patients with breast cancer. Methods and Materials: This is a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Studies that compared any intervention for fibrosis to another intervention, placebo, or no intervention were included. Outcomes assessed were fibrosis, adverse events, quality of life, treatment adherence, pain, and functionality. Results: = .77 [moderate evidence]), respectively, assessed by the Late Effects Normal Tissue Task Force-Subjective, Objective, Management, and Analytic (LENT-SOMA) scoring scale. Conclusions: The effectiveness of these interventions for the treatment of radiation-induced fibrosis in patients with breast cancer could not be determined. Although isolated studies show significant results favorable to the experimental groups, caution should be exercised in these findings because of the small number, small sample size, and high risk of bias presented by some of the included studies, which makes the recommendation for clinical practice still weak.