Subcutaneous Injection of Hyaluronic Acid to Decrease Acute Skin Toxicity After Adjuvant Interstitial Brachytherapy in Parotid Gland Cancer Patients: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of subcutaneous injection of hyaluronic acid in decreasing acute skin toxicity after adjuvant interstitial brachytherapy in parotid gland cancer patients. Patients with histologically proven parotid gland cancer who would be treated with adjuvant interstitial brachytherapy were included in this nonrandomized controlled trial. Participants were nonrandomly divided into the experimental group and control group. Participants in the experimental group received an injection of hyaluronic acid subcutaneously immediately after interstitial brachytherapy during the operation. Acute toxicity was evaluated in the first 2months. Thirty consecutive participants were included from April to September 2018. Twenty participants were in the experimental group, and 10 were in the control group. The median volume of hyaluronic acid was 8mL (range, 4 to 11mL).In total, the incidence of acute skin toxicity was 40% (8 of 20 patients) and 100% (10 of 10 patients) in the experimental group and control group, respectively. The difference in the dose delivered to 90% of the target volume of the affected skin was significant between the pre-plan (mean, 36.93Gy) and the actuarial quality verification (mean, 27.70Gy) in the experimental group (P=.004). The difference in scoring of acute skin toxicity was significant between the experimental and control groups (P=.001). No clear correlation was found between the dose delivered to 90% of the target volume of the affected skin and the scoring of acute skin toxicity (P=.266). Subcutaneous injection of hyaluronic acid was safe and efficient in decreasing acute skin toxicity after adjuvant interstitial brachytherapy in parotid gland cancer patients according to the preliminary results.