What Can Be Expected on Irradiated Skin? A Dermatologic Focus on Acute and Chronic Radiotherapeutic Effects, Treatment, and Benign Dermatoses.

Radiotherapy has been a common and well-known treatment for several cancers and benign dermatoses. An overview of the characteristics of acute and chronic cutaneous effects of radiotherapy and its treatment is presented. A current overview of benign dermatoses after radiotherapy, presently only dispersedly published in the literature, is given with the mean age of occurrence, dose of radiotherapy, and their latency time calculated for those described more than 8 times. Benign dermatoses occurring most often after radiotherapy (>20 times described), ie, morphea, bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, and acneiform eruptions are discussed in more detail. Finally, dermatoses with a specific distribution related to the irradiated area are highlighted. This review provides an overview of cutaneous side effects of radiotherapy, especially of the benign dermatoses, as a supplement to the clinical knowledge of dermatologists, oncologists, and wound care specialists.