QOL Assessment in Breast Cancer Patients With Radiation-Induced Telangiectasias Treated With the Pulsed Dye Laser

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Breast Cancer; Radiation-Induced Telangiectasias

Treatments: Behavioral: questionnaires

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01803516

13-013

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to see how the look of telangiectasias (small dilated blood vessels) on radiated breast skin when altered by the pulsed dye laser affects a patient's overall well being.

Patients will have a set of treatments with a pulsed dye laser. This is a laser that targets red blood vessels and delivers heat causing the telangiectasias to become smaller and less visible. The laser has been used safely to treat telangiectasias on the skin of patients who received radiation for breast cancer.

Patients in the study will be asked to complete a questionnaire asking how they feel about the telangiectasias, their radiated skin and its effect on their daily lives. The questionnaire will be given at every visit. The improvement in the look of patients' radiated skin will also be compared to answers to the questionnaire. We hope the study will improve our understanding of how patients feel about the long term effects of radiation on their skin.

Enrollment: 22 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Locally advanced breast cancer patients treated with surgery and adjuvant radiation
• Telangiectasias in the radiation field of the treated breast
• Patients 18 years or older

Exclusion criteria

• Non English speaking
• Current oral steroid use or receiving daily therapeutic anticoagulation (e.g. Coumadin, Lovenox)
• Breast/s reconstructed with implant in the area of previous radiation
• Pregnancy or lactation
• Previous laser treatment of telangiectasias
• Presence of a sun tan in the area
• Fitzpatrick skin types V, VI

Trial design

22 participants in 1 patient group

Breast cancer survivors with radiation-induced Telangiectasias

Description:

A quality of life assessment will also be completed by the patient using the Skindex-16 and a subscale of the BREAST-Q Breast Conserving Module questionnaire.

Treatment:

Behavioral: questionnaires