Huang, YanSanz, JavierRodríguez de Dios, NúriaDuran Jordà, Xavier, 1974-Martínez, ÁlvaroLi, X.Foro Arnalot, PalmiraConde, M.Zhao, MengyaoLiu, F.Reig, AnnaDengra, JosefaMembrive, IsmaelPérez, P.Algara López, Manuel-Ignacio2022-02-212022-02-212022Huang Y, Sanz J, Rodríguez N, Duran X, Martínez A, Li X, Foro P, Conde M, Zhao M, Liu F, Reig A, Dengra J, Membrive I, Pérez P, Algara M. Quantitative assessments of late radiation-induced skin and soft tissue toxicity and correlation with RTOG scales and biological equivalent dose in breast cancer. Clin Transl Oncol. 2022;24(5):836-45. DOI: 10.1007/s12094-021-02729-z1699-048Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/10230/52532Purpose: Radiation-induced toxicity (RIT) is usually assessed by inspection and palpation. Due to their subjective and unquantitative nature, objective methods are required. This study aimed to determine whether a quantitative tool is able to assess RIT and establish an underlying BED-response relationship in breast cancer. Methods: Patients following seven different breast radiation protocols were recruited to this study for RIT assessment with qualitative and quantitative examination. The biologically equivalent dose (BED) was used to directly compare different radiation regimens. RIT was subjectively evaluated by physicians using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) late toxicity scores. Simultaneously an objective multiprobe device was also used to quantitatively assess late RIT in terms of erythema, hyperpigmentation, elasticity and skin hydration. Results: In 194 patients, in terms of the objective measurements, treated breasts showed higher erythema and hyperpigmentation and lower elasticity and hydration than untreated breasts (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.019, respectively). As the BED increased, Δerythema and Δpigmentation gradually increased as well (p = 0.006 and p = 0.002, respectively). Regarding the clinical assessment, the increase in BED resulted in a higher RTOG toxicity grade (p < 0.001). Quantitative assessments were consistent with RTOG scores. As the RTOG toxicity grade increased, the erythema and pigmentation values increased, and the elasticity index decreased (p < 0.001, p = 0.016, p = 0.005, respectively). Conclusions: The multiprobe device can be a sensitive and simple tool for research purpose and quantitatively assessing RIT in patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer. Physician-assessed toxicity scores and objective measurements revealed that the BED was positively associated with the severity of RIT.application/pdfeng© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12094-021-02729-zBiological equivalent doseBreast cancerObjective evaluationQuantitative assessmentRadiation-induced toxicityRadiotherapyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess