Hindley, A., Zain, Z., Wood, L., Whitehead, A., Sanneh, A., Barber, D., & Hornsby, R. (2014). Mometasone furoate cream reduces acute radiation dermatitis in patients receiving breast radiation therapy: Results of a randomized trial. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 90, 748–755.
To demonstrate the potential benefits of topical mometasone furoate (MF) for the prevention of acute radiation reactions with a primary measure/endpoint being the mean modified Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) score
Double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial
This study demonstrated that MF cream may be beneficial in reducing the severity of acute radiation skin reactions when compared to diprobase cream applied daily to the irradiated area on the breast during three weeks of RT and two weeks post-RT.
The findings of this study demonstrated that the use of MF cream was more effective than an aqueous cream for the prevention of severe radiodermatitis in women receiving radiation therapy for breast cancer. Mixed results have been seen in various studies using different topical corticosteroids, suggesting that specific steroid selection is important. Overall findings suggest that it may be important to begin topical treatment use prior to radiation rather than using steroids for the treatment of radiodermatitis after it has developed. The optimal schedule for the use of such treatments has not been determined, and it has varied across studies.