Radiation Oncology physician-scientists at the University of Arizona Cancer Center rethinking the status quo, advocating for new approach to treat Scleredema of Buschke
Overall implications for this new approach suggest that low energy X-rays or electron beams have a high therapeutic ratio in relieving the limiting symptoms of Scleredema of Buschke and in improving the quality of life of the patients afflicted by it.
Several researchers from the University of Arizona Cancer Center and the dermatology division (Department of Medicine) are advocating for a new approach to treatment for a rare connective tissue disorder called Scleredema of Buschke.
Scleredema of Buschke is a rare connective tissue disorder that causes decreased range of motion, decreased sensation, pain, and poor cosmesis, mostly around the shoulder and neck area.
In a recent case study published in the journal Advances in Radiation Oncology, Tijana Skrepnik, MD, Silvija Gottesman, MD, and Baldassarre Stea, MD, PhD, demonstrated radiation therapy (RT) as a simpler way to manage this rare condition, focusing on one treatment option rather than a multitude of approaches. According to the paper, “RT is convenient, brief, noninvasive, and well-tolerated.”
Radiation Therapy (RT) is a high-energy beam of x-rays focused on a specific area to destroy abnormal cells, with every effort made to preserve normal tissue. “The reason why this approach can prove more successful then established methods of treating Scleredema of Buschke is because it has very few (if any) systemic side effects, it requires a very small investment of time (15 minutes/day for 10 days) and it is not invasive, thus painless” noted Baldassarre Stea, MD, PhD, a member of the University of Arizona Cancer Center and Professor and Department Head for Radiation Oncology.
This progressive condition is typically treated with an array of heterogeneous systemic options including bath-psoralen ultraviolet A, cyclosporine, methotrexate, extracorporeal photopheresis, prednisolone, thyroid hormones, pituitary extract, physiotherapy, hyaluronidase, frequency modulated electromagnetic neural stimulation, and high-dose penicillin. Varied results have rendered these multimodal treatment options uncertain, and therefore a single method for standard of care has not been established.
Overall implications for this new approach suggest that low energy X-rays or electron beams have a high therapeutic ratio in relieving the limiting symptoms of this disorder and in improving the quality of life of the patients afflicted by it.
Advances in Radiation Oncology is a new journal published by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).