Mepitel Film for the prevention of skin ulceration caused by radiation therapy in breast cancer patients.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy for women in New Zealand. Severe skin reactions occur in a significant proportion of women who receive radiation therapy for breast cancer. Skin ulceration affects patient quality of life and poses a risk of infection. There is currently no standard treatment for radiation-induced skin reactions. We have shown in two trials in New Zealand that Mepilex Lite dressings decrease the severity of acute radiation-induced skin reactions. Both trials were intra-patient controlled randomized trials, whereby each patient acted as their own control, circumventing the problem of the many confounding treatment-and patient-related factors that affect the severity of such skin reactions. However, the dressing were not transparent and did not stick well in the armpit and underneath the breast. Mepitel Film has all the advantages of Mepilex Lite but is transparent, sticks better and stays on for longer. This study will compare the efficacy of Mepitel Film with that of aqueous cream in reducing the incidence of radiation-induced skin ulceration in 40 women treated for breast cancer.