Effect of Laser on Reversing Chronic Radiation Injury

Radiotherapy, an essential modality in cancer treatment, frequently induces a fibrotic process in the skin which can lead to increased risk of malignancy, poor wound healing, pain and limitation of movement, and permanent loss of skin appendages with hyper/hypopigmentation, decreased sweating and xerosis, posing significant cosmetic and quality of life issues. Advances in laser therapy has led to the use of fractional laser treatment (FLT) to treat fibrosis associated with in hypertrophic scars and morphea, leading to tissue repair, scar remodeling. The investigators propose a pilot clinical study to test the hypothesis that FLT can normalize the fibrotic process and induce normal scar remodeling in patients affected by chronic radiation injury. Understanding and correcting this underlying fibrotic process can help restore normal skin functions in patients affected with chronic radiation dermatitis (RD) and other debilitating fibrotic diseases in dermatology such as scleroderma, morphea, or nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.