Topical Fibronectin - Novel Therapeutic Approach Has Been Formulated for Radiation Induced Skin Reactions

Abstract

For a long time, radiation-induced skin reactions (RISR) or radiation ulcer (RU) were only encountered in patients undergoing radiation therapy. Nearly 90% of patients having received radiation therapy underwent moderate-to-severe skin reactions such as non-healing wounds, severely reducing patients' quality of life and adversely affecting their disease treatment. Wound healing is significantly delayed in irradiated skin. Fibronectin was the most significantly and consistently downregulated in radiation-damaged skin. From a murine model, we confirmed that radiation leads to decreased fibronectin expression in the skin as well as delayed wound healing. Topically fibronectin was found to significantly improve wound healing in irradiated skin and was associated with decreased inflammatory infiltrate and increased angiogenesis. Fibronectin treatment may be a useful adjunctive modality in the treatment of non-healing radiation wounds. Besides, this review study can be referenced for clinicians to treat RSIs to guide subsequent clinical application.