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Hyperbaric oxygen and radiation therapy: a review

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Abstract

About 5% of cancer patients treated with radiotherapy will have severe late-onset toxicity. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been used as a treatment for radiation injuries for decades, with many publications presenting data from small series or individual cases. Moreover, we know that the hypoxic areas of tumours are more resistant to radiation. HBOT increases the oxygen tension in tissues and, theoretically, it should enhance the efficiency of radiotherapy. To better understand how HBOT works, we carried out this bibliographic review. We found Grade B and C evidence that at pressures exceeding 2 absolute atmospheres (ata), HBOT reduced late-onset radiation injuries to the head and neck, bone, prostate and bladder. It also appeared to prevent osteoradionecrosis after exodontia in irradiated areas. Finally, HBOT at 2 ata increased the effectiveness of radiation in head and neck tumours and achieved promising results in the local control of high-grade gliomas.

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Funding

The Provincial Hospital of Castellón Foundation funded this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiation Oncology Service, Provincial Hospital of Castellón, Avda. Dr. Clara 19, 12002, Castellón de la Plana, Spain

    E. Fernández, V. Morillo, A. Santafé, I. Beato, M. Rodríguez & C. Ferrer

  2. Hyperbaric Therapy Unit, General Hospital of Castellón, Castellón de la Plana, Spain

    M. Salvador

Authors
  1. E. Fernández
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  2. V. Morillo
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  3. M. Salvador
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  4. A. Santafé
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  5. I. Beato
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  6. M. Rodríguez
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  7. C. Ferrer
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Correspondence to E. Fernández.

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All the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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This was an observational study. The Research Ethics Committee at the Castellón Provincial Hospital Consortium confirmed that no ethical approval was required for the completion of this work.

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As a review article, no individual patient information or images were collected. Therefore, written informed consents were not required.

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Fernández, E., Morillo, V., Salvador, M. et al. Hyperbaric oxygen and radiation therapy: a review. Clin Transl Oncol 23, 1047–1053 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-020-02513-5

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