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Evaluation of the Medical Benefit of Spa Therapy on Fibrosis After Postoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Fibrosis
Breast Cancer
Interventions
Other: Thermal cure with a primary dermatological indication
Registration Number
NCT05874492
Lead Sponsor
Association Francaise pour la Recherche Thermale
Brief Summary

FIBROTHERME is a comparative, controlled, randomized, multicenter and simple blinded (investigator) trial.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the medical benefit in terms of quality of life on the dermatological sequelae of fibrosis 6 months after a dermatologically oriented spa therapy in patients with severe late reactions affecting the skin and/or soft tissues at least 6 months after the end of postoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer.

Detailed Description

Radiation-induced fibrosis is an equivalent of an "orphan disease", in which oncologists have only recently shown interest, despite its prevalence. No study on the medical service provided by crenotherapy has been published in late radiation-induced fibrosis, which shares a common pathophysiology and medico-psycho-social sequelae with the sequelae of burns.

Chronic progressive dermatoses are part of the 12 main therapeutic orientations of medical thermalism. In particular, burn scars are a very current indication. Crenotherapy allows the attenuation, or even the disappearance of: pruritus and dysesthesia, local inflammation, hypertrophy and sclerosis and favours the recovery of chronic superficial erosions. Fibrous scars, even old ones, respond favourably to thermal treatments. The thermal treatment combines baths which have a sedative, muscle-relaxing effect and which favour joint mobilisation, sprays which have a decongestant effect and above all thread-like showers which are carried out by jets of thermal water under high pressure for several minutes.

The primary endpoint is the self-assessment by the patient of the dermatological quality of life by the DLQI score at 6 months after the end of the treatment compared between the intervention group (immediate treatment) and the control group (delayed treatment after 6 months).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
110
Inclusion Criteria
  • Female
  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • In situ or invasive breast cancer
  • DLQI ≥ 6 (at least moderate effect on patient's life)
  • General status WHO 0-1
  • Post-operative radiotherapy completed at least 6 months ago (with no maximum post radiotherapy delay)
  • Unilateral breast radiotherapy
  • Skin or soft tissue toxicity (- modules: Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders / Musculoskeletal disorders / Reproductive organs and breast disorders) CTCAE v4.0 grade ≥ 2
  • No inflammatory or infectious flare at inclusion
  • Female of childbearing potential: negative urine pregnancy test at inclusion
  • Patient informed and signed consent
  • Affiliation to a social security systeme or equivalent
Exclusion Criteria
  • Progressive phase of cancer
  • Metastatic disease
  • Patient undergoing specific treatment for breast cancer (except adjuvant hormone therapy and/or adjuvant herceptin)
  • Bilateral breast/parietal radiotherapy
  • Breast prosthesis wearer
  • Obvious skin ulceration in the treated breast
  • Contraindication to spa treatment (acute inflammatory disease, active infections, heart failure with NYHA stage > 1, chronic respiratory failure, labile hypertension, bullous disease)
  • Chronic progressive dermatological disease
  • Women who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant within 6 months or who are breastfeeding
  • Persons deprived of liberty or under guardianship

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Late spa treatmentThermal cure with a primary dermatological indicationThe spa treatment must be carried out after the 6-month visit.
Immediate spa treatmentThermal cure with a primary dermatological indicationThe spa treatment must be carried out within a maximum of 6 weeks after the inclusion visit.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Evaluation of the medical benefit in terms of quality of life on the dermatological sequelae of fibrosis after a dermatologically oriented spa treatment.6 months

Self-assessment by the patient of the dermatological quality of life by the DLQI (Dermatology Life Quality Index) score at 6 months after the end of the treatment compared between the intervention group (immediate treatment) and the control group (delayed treatment after 6 months). The DLQI score is between 0 and 30 where a high score indicates a significant impairment of quality of life.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Adverse events6 months

Comparison of the adverse events in the 2 groups. Description of adverse events between the 2 groups.

Long-term cure quality of life benefice12 months

Evaluation of the stability of the long-term effect for the immediate cure group. Evaluation of the maintenance of benefits at 12 months (stability of the long term effect) on the primary outcome and secondary outcomes. Self-assessment by the patient of the dermatological quality of life by the DLQI (Dermatology Life Quality Index).

Generic quality of life6 months

Evaluation of the medical benefit on generic quality of life. Patient self-assessment of generic quality of life using the EQ5D-3L. EQ-5D-3L is a standardized instrument developed by the EuroQol Group as a measure of health-related quality of life that can be used in a wide range of health conditions and treatments. The EQ5D has 6 items intended to measure general health. The index score is between -0.53 and 1 where a high value indicates a good quality of life. The perceived health status is between 0 and 100 where a high value indicates good health.

Senological quality of life6 months

Evaluation of the medical benefit on the quality of senological life. Patient self-assessment of breast quality of life using the specific QLQ-BR23 module (breast cancer-specific quality of life questionnaire). The QLQ-BR23 has 8 domains. There is no total score. For each domain, the rank is between 1 and 5 where a high score represents the death.

Sequelae self assessment6 months

Evaluation of the medical benefit on the self-assessment of the impact of radio induced sequelae. Self-assessment by the patient with an evaluation of the severity of the radiation-induced sequelae via the Pro-CTCAE self-questionnaire (item 25: skin dryness, item 28: itching, item 36: skin reaction to radiation, item 37: skin darkening, item 48: general pain, item 53: fatigue, item 54: anxiety, item 56: sadness, item 72: breast swelling and tenderness).

Thickness radiological assessment6 months

Hetero-evaluation of the clinical and imaging efficacy of treatment on post-radiation lesions of thickness. Imaging assessment with blinded measurement by an independent radiologist of comparative thickness by ultrasound: Dermal radiotoxicity can indeed be defined as the difference in dermal thickness between the 2 breasts (lesion area and mirror area of the contralateral breast) Dermal thickness is defined as the distance between the input ultrasound signal and the signal at the dermal-hypodermal interface at 6 months.

Breast Cancer quality of life6 months

Evaluation of the medical benefit on quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Patient self-assessment of quality of life using the EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer) QLQ C30 Score (Quality of Life of Cancer Patients). The EORTC QLQ-C30 has 15 domains. There is no total score. For each domain, the score is between 0 and 100 where a high score for overall health and functional dimensions represents a good quality of life; and a high score for symptomatic dimensions represents a high level of symptoms.

Lesions radiological assessment6 months

Hetero-evaluation of the clinical and imaging efficacy of treatment on post-radiation lesions with CTCAE scale (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events). For each domain, the score is between 0 and 100 where a high score for the functional dimensions represents a good quality of life; and a high score for the symptomatic dimensions represents a high level of symptoms.

Volumetric aspect radiological assessment6 months

Hetero-evaluation of the clinical and imaging efficacy of treatment on post-radiation lesions with HBCS (Harvard-Breast-Cosmesis-Scale). Evaluation of the cutaneous and volumetric aspect by an evaluation carried out by the practitioner with the Harvard-breast-cosmesis-scale (HBCS) score at 6 months. The HBCS score is assessed by a 4-point Likert scale where a high value indicates a high severity, 1 represents excellent breast shape or texture, 2 means good, 3 average and 4 poor with a severely deformed breast.

Treatment effect size12 months

Evaluation of the effect size of the treatment for the delayed treatment group. Confirmation of the size of the effect of the treatment on the primary and main secondary endpoints between 6 and 12 months.

Consumption of treatment6 months

Comparison of the type of treatment between the 2 groups.

Consumption of medical consultation6 months

Comparison of the number of hospitalisations, consultations, physiotherapy, specific cosmetic consultations between the 2 groups.

Trial Locations

Locations (10)

Clinique Tivoli-Ducos

🇫🇷

Bordeaux, France

Institut de Cancérologie de Bourgogne

🇫🇷

Dijon, France

Groupe Hospitalier Mutualiste de Grenoble

🇫🇷

Grenoble, France

Institut Rafael

🇫🇷

Levallois Perret, France

Centre Azuréen de Cancérologie

🇫🇷

Mougins, France

Centre Eugène Marquis

🇫🇷

Rennes, France

Centre Hospitalier Roanne

🇫🇷

Roanne, France

CHU Saint Etienne

🇫🇷

Saint Etienne, France

Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine

🇫🇷

Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France

Centre François Baclesse

🇱🇺

Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

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