Patients receiving anti-cancer therapy see fewer skin adverse effects because of the usage of photoprotection. Even indirect sunlight requires protection due to the photosensitizing nature of several cancer therapies. A simple strategy to avoid skin responses is to use anti-UVB and anti-UVA sunscreens. For a study, researchers sought to evaluate the skin tolerability of cancer patients receiving daily SPF100 UVA-PF36 sun protection.
Around 56 of the 59 included patients were eligible for analysis. Patients (mean age 60.2 years ± 12.8) were mostly women (71%). About 72.7% had received chemotherapy, 5.5% had radiotherapy, and 18.2% had both. 36% started wearing sunscreen as soon as their cancer treatment began. Before any skin abnormalities appeared, 46% of people had used sunscreen; 45% and 34%, respectively, used it daily or often. The average usage time was 15.5 ± 8.9 days.
Overall, 58% and 39% reported using one or two everyday applications. 95% applied the product to the face and 77% to the neck. Only 21% of people administered the lotion to their feet, 7% to their calves, and <4% to their thighs. According to predicted side effects of the cancer therapy, 46%, 30%, 20%, and 16% of patients, respectively, experienced dryness, photosensitivity, redness, and irritation. Patients reported improvements in their skin’s health and cancer-related symptoms in 82.7% of cases, and 97.4% of patients preferred the study sunscreen over other brands. 37.5% were happy with the sunscreen used, and 58.9% were extremely satisfied.
When receiving photosensitizing therapies, cancer patients should get instructions on how to protect their skin, especially their scalp and regions around their extremities.
Reference: jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(22)01562-6/fulltext
