Abstract
The aim of the study was to evaluate the temperature parameter of the breast area in patients undergoing radiotherapy at various intervals. The relationship between temperature changes on the patient’s skin and the time after the end of radiotherapy was studied. Measurements with a thermal imaging camera were performed in a group of twelve volunteers. Six of them were healthy women who did not have thermal asymmetry between the breasts, whereas six were diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent mastectomy due to the advanced stage of the disease. The patients were qualified for radiation therapy. Thermographic examinations were performed before treatment, two months later and then six months after the end of the treatment. Temperature differences between the healthy breasts and the treated areas were assessed. Additionally, the correlation between a patient’s skin temperature changes and the time after the end of radiotherapy was analyzed. The highest skin temperature increase (1.47 °C) was observed 6 months after the end of RT compared to the measurement before treatment. It seems that thermovision may bring a new tool for quantitative analyses of the temperature effects of radiotherapy.
Highlights
The leading cause of cancer death in female patients is breast cancer
The symptoms of breast cancer depend on the stage of its development: in its early stages, it is often asymptomatic, while the advanced stage depends on the extent of the local lesions and the location of the metastatic foci
Two main types of radiotherapy are used in the treatment of breast cancer: teleradiotherapy and brachytherapy
Summary
The most common risk factors include: age, area of residence, reproductive factors, menopausal age, family history, occurrence of benign breast changes and lifestyle. The symptoms of breast cancer depend on the stage of its development: in its early stages, it is often asymptomatic, while the advanced stage depends on the extent of the local lesions and the location of the metastatic foci. The most common treatments of breast cancer include combination therapy treatments: local methods (surgery and radiotherapy) and systemic treatments (chemotherapy, hormone therapy and biological methods). Two main types of radiotherapy are used in the treatment of breast cancer: teleradiotherapy (external radiation) and brachytherapy (direct radiation to cancer cells). Teleradiotherapy is used in the form of several minute-long cycles (the irradiation time depends on the treatment plan performed) for a period of 3–5 weeks
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