RESUMO
Skin is the first organ of contact with ionizing radiation. Radiation-induced skin injury is common because the basal cell layer and capillaries of the skin are very sensitive to radiation. Acute radiation-induced skin injury primarily involves cellular alterations and inflammation in the epidermis and dermis, and late skin injury is mainly related to the effect of radiation on blood vessels. Clinical manifestations of radiation-induced skin injury include erythema, dry desquamation, moist desquamation, and ulceration in the skin mucosa, and the severity is related to the type and dose of radiation. Currently, the underlying mechanisms of radiation-induced skin injury are largely unknown, and the gold standard for the treatment of radiation injury has not been established. The known mechanisms of radiation-induced skin injury can be roughly divided into three pathways: oxidative stress injury caused by excessive production of reactive oxygen species, inflammation triggered by transcriptional activation of cytokines, and immune response evoked by bone marrow-derived cells. This paper reviews the three major pathways of mechanisms of radiation-induced skin injury, giving a reference for further mechanism study and preventive treatment of radiation-induced skin injury.