Characteristics of Skin Electrical Conductance in Patients With Breast Cancer and High Risk of Radiation Therapy-Related Complications

Abstract

Background. Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the main methods of treating cancer, including breast cancer (BC). This is one of the most knowledge-intensive medical industries, which is based on the latest advances in radiobiology, chemistry, radiation physics, engineering and others. Effective PT involves the use of fairly high doses of radiation, which is what determines the success of comprehensive treatment, in particular the increase in the number of patients who survived 5 years or more. In turn, the increase in survival after a course of combination treatment leads to an increase in the absolute number of patients with adverse treatment outcomes, including radiation-related complications (RC). The aim of the work was to characterize the changes in the skin electrical conductance in patients with breast cancer and an increased risk of RC. Materials and methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the clinic of the Grigoriev Institute of Medical Radiology and Oncology of NAMS of Ukraine. To study the skin electrical conductance, 16 patients with BC with an increased risk of RC were selected, with a mean age of 53.8 ± 3.7 (95% CI: 46.6–61.0) years. Studies of tissue electrical conductance were performed using the device "Electrodermatometer", measuring the indicators: modulus of complex impedance, impedance angle, complex impedance, and electrical capacity. Results and discussion. The study showed that in patients with BC and increased risk of RC, there was a decrease in the complex impedance of tissues at the study points during RT. The modulus of complex impedance at the mitral area decreased by only 6.8% (p > 0.05), while at the aortic, pulmonic and tricuspid areas, this figure was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 27.0%; 26.2% and 33.0%, respectively, relative to the initial indicators for RT. It was found that the most pronounced changes in the skin electrical conductance in patients with BC at risk of RC were observed at the projection points of the tricuspid and pulmonic areas, where these indicators were significantly (p < 0.05) increased by 41.1% and 34.2% relative to the baseline and equaled 9.8 ± 0.89 pF and 9.8 ± 0.88 pF, respectively. Conclusions. In patients with breast cancer at risk of RC, there was a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) in the value of the modulus of complex impedance by an average of 23.3% and a statistically significant increase (p < 0.05) in the tissue electrical conductance by an average of 29.8% relative to the baseline during radiation therapy.