The Effect of Preventive-Care Education on Radiotherapy-Induced Dermatitis in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Breast cancer is the most common on the list and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Although radiation therapy is a key component of cancer treatment, it causes several complications, including radiodermatitis. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of preventive-care education on radiotherapy-induced dermatitis in patients with breast cancer. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 80 patients with breast cancer who were candidates for radiation therapy were selected by convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the groups of intervention and control. Data were collected using a demographic form and a scale for assessing skin complications developed by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). Patients in the intervention group were trained individually in three 30-minute sessions on treatment methods, chemotherapy, and prevention as well as radiodermatitis care. While the control group received routine care. Data were analyzed in SPSS 22 using the Mann-Whitney test, chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, and generalized estimation equation (GEE) at a significance level of < 0.05. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups concerning the marital status, smoking, education level, age, BMI, plasma albumin level, and disease stage. After providing the intervention, the prevalence of radiodermatitis grade 1 was 27.5 and 7.5% in the control and intervention groups, respectively. After six weeks, 30% and 10% of patients in the control group developed radiodermatitis grades 3 and 4, respectively, but only 7.5% of patients in the intervention group had radiodermatitis grade 3. The results of GEE indicated that over time, the probability of developing higher grades of radiodermatitis increases by 1.074. This probability was 1.355 higher in the control group than the intervention group (P value = 0.03). Conclusions: This study demonstrated the positive effect of the educational intervention on the severity of radiodermatitis in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Along with medication, implementing an educational program that teaches patients how to prevent radiodermatitis helps to reduce the incidence of radiodermatitis.