Comparative Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Herbal Preparation vis-a-vis Beclomethasone Cream on Radiation Induced Skin Injury in Head and Neck Carcinoma Patients Receiving Radiotherapy or Chemoradiation in Oncology Department at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Radiation mitigators are the compounds whichcan minimize or ameliorate post irradiation-toxicity providedthey are administered before the onset of toxic symptoms.Hence, there is an urgent need to prevent harmful effectssecondary to ionizing radiations.Material and Methods: Sixty patients of Head and neckcarcinoma more than 18 years of age of either sex and willingto give informed consent were included in the study. In Group1, 30 patients received the Beclomethasone cream that wastopically applied from the day-1 of radiotherapy till 4-weeksafter completion of radiotherapy, whereas In Group-2, 30patients received the local application of the herbal paste fromthe day-1 of radiotherapy till 4-weeks after completion ofradiotherapy.Results: For measuring radiation-induced reactions, nonparametric test like chi-square test was applied and number ofpatients in different grades was calculated as per RTOGcriteria. Similarly for measuring radiation-induced mucosalreactions, chi-square test was applied and number of patientsin different grades was calculated as per RTOG-criteria.Conclusion: Present study revealed a marked beneficialeffects of herbal paste containing Azadirachta indica, aloevera, Ocimum sanctum and Curcuma longa on radiationinduced skin injury in patients with Head and neck carcinomaas compared to topical Beclomethasone cream.

Comparative Evaluation of Quality of Life in Patients of Head and Neck Carcinoma withRadiation Induced Skin-injury in Oncology Department at Tertiary Care Hospital

Radiation mitigators are the compounds which can minimize post irradiation-toxicity provided theyare administered before the onset of toxic symptoms. In present study we compared pre and posttreatment quality of life in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy.Sixty patients ofHead and neck carcinoma more than 18 years of age of either sex and willing to give informedconsent were included in the study. In Group-1, 30 patients received the Beclomethasone cream thatwas topically applied from the day-1 of radiotherapy till 4-weeks after completion of radiotherapy,whereas In Group-2, 30 patients received the local application of the herbal paste from the day-1 ofradiotherapy till 4-weeks after completion of radiotherapy. These 60 patients were evaluated at 6month post-therapy using the European organisation for research and treatment of cancer quality oflife questionnaire C30 .For measuring radiation-induced reactions, chi-square test was applied andnumber of patients in different grades was calculated as per Radiotherapy oncology group criteria.Similarly for measuring radiation-induced mucosal reactions, non-parametric test i.e chi-square testwas applied and number of patients in different grades was calculated as per radiotherapy oncologygroup criteria. As per quality of life questionnaire, evaluation on symptom scale revealed that fatigue,pain, dyspnoea, appetite loss and insomnia got worsened in Gp-1 patients, except for diarrhoea,constipation and nausea or vomiting while in Gp-2 patients, all symptoms showed improvement after6 month of completion of treatment. Comparing pre and post-treatment , the global health statusshowed statistically significant improvement in group-2 patients receiving polyherbal paste .The International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS), 2019, Vol 6, No.1,65-79. 66present study revealed a beneficial effects of polyherbal paste containing Azadirachta indica, aloevera, Ocimum sanctum and Curcuma longa on radiation induced skin injury in patients with Head andneck carcinoma as compared to topical Beclomethasone cream. Also there was improvement inquality of life in cancer patients receiving herbal paste measured at 6 month post-treatment.