SKIN TREATMENT WITH BEPANTHEN CREAM VERSUS NO CREAM DURING RADIOTHERAPY - A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

In several radiotherapy departments, dexpanthenol cream (Bepanthen 'Ro che') has been used extensively to ameliorate acute radiotherapy skin reactions. The evidence base for this practice is obscure as no random ized trials have been performed. In the present clinical prospective s tudy of 86 patients we have compared Bepanthen cream with no topical o intment at all. The cream was applied on randomly selected parts of tr eatment fields in laryngeal and breast cancer patients, and so each pa tient acted as his own control. Seven patients were withdrawn from ana lysis. Scoring of skin reactions in 16 laryngeal and 63 breast cancer patients was performed without knowledge of which area that had been g iven cream or not. Endpoints were a modified skin reaction grading acc ording to EORTC/RTOG, and itching/pain in treated fields. The study di d not indicate any clinically important benefits of using Bepanthen cr eam for ameliorating radiogenic skin reactions under the conditions ap plied.