Improvement of skin care during radiotherapy.

Background: State-of-the-art radiotherapy, new insights into pharmacology and novel operating techniques require patient-oriented adaptation of care.

Patients And Method: At the Radio-oncology Department of the Kaiser Franz Josef Spital, Vienna, a new skin care concept for patients undergoing radiotherapy was introduced in March 1999. This concept has subsequently been applied in all cases regardless of the diagnosis prompting referral (79 ENT, 305 breast, 134 prostate, 89 colorectal cancer and 751 other patients).