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

B. L. D. de Aguiar, E. N. Silva Guerra, Ana Gabriela Costa Normando, C. Martins, P. E. D. Dos Reis, E. B. Ferreira

Critical reviews in oncology/hematology, 2021

26 citations

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 six 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.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

• DOI
• PubMed
• Publisher page

Related studies

• Risk Factors for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Death in a Population Cohort Study from the Western Cape Province, South Africa Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2020
• Global and regional estimates of genital human papillomavirus prevalence among men: a systematic review and meta-analysis Lancet Global Health, 2023
• A methodology for assessing deployment trauma and its consequences in OEF/OIF/OND veterans: The TRACTS longitudinal prospective cohort study International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 2017
• Post‑COVID‑19 Syndrome in Outpatients: a Cohort Study Journal of general internal medicine, 2021
• Factors Influencing Primary and Secondary Implant Stability—A Retrospective Cohort Study with 582 Implants in 272 Patients Applied Sciences, 2020
• Electroacupuncture for Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Multicenter, Randomized, Assessor-Blinded, Controlled Trial Diabetes Care, 2018

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free