TITLE:
Regenerative Medicine to Reduce the Side Effects from Radiotherapy Causing Skin Cancer, Fibrosis, Neuropathic Pain and Hair Loss
AUTHORS:
E. Russell Vickers, Junqing Liang, Peter G. Vickers, Haitao Wen
KEYWORDS:
Herbal Medicine, Polyphenols, Radiation, Radiotherapy, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.12 No.8,
August
20,
2021
ABSTRACT: Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the gold
standard treatments used for cancer. Side effects from medical
radiation can be significant, particularly external beam therapy to the breast,
and head and neck regions causing fibrosis,
secondary skin cancer, hair loss, oral mucositis and neuropathic pain.
There is significant psychological stress, depression, anxiety and loss of self
esteem particularly for female patients. Similar types of space radiation are
known to damage the health of astronauts. Current treatments for scarring,
tissue loss, hair loss and neuropathic pain are a high priority but inadequate.
Regenerative medicine is a new and comprehensive approach to potentially treat
complex medical conditions from radiation damage. Regenerative medicine
combines a systematic evidence based approach with the use of herbal medicine,
stem cells, peptides and 3D tissue engineering. These fields use sophisticated
technology to identify the respective molecular mechanisms of upregulation and
protection of healthy cells and down regulation of cancer cells. The
regenerative medicine strategies of stem cells and plant polyphenols suggest
there is significant potential for rapid clinical translation to alleviate the
side effects associated with radiotherapy.