Radiation dermatitis: Clinical presentation, pathophysiology, and treatment 2006

Ionizing radiation is used to treat a variety of primary tumors, as well as to palliate metastatic disease. Dermatologists are no strangers to this modality of therapy and, since the discovery of x-rays by Roentgen in 1895, have incorporated radiation into their practice to treat malignant skin tumors, as well as benign skin diseases such as acne, eczema, and cutaneous fungal infections. In the past 30 years, other therapeutic modalities have largely supplanted radiation in the treatment of these benign disorders.