A Case for “Radiolysis” in Radiotherapy of Keloids

Successful treatment of keloids has eluded the medical community since their first description. Multitudes of therapeutic options are available, but none achieves satisfactory resolution of keloids. One major stumbling block is lack of understanding about their genesis. Assuming keloids are tumors, attempts have been made to treat this condition with standard radiotherapy, with dismal results. Keloidal masses are not an active biological entity. They are aggregations of cellular, hypovascular, hypoxic bundles of collagen, which are produced by atypical fibroblasts in the wounds and eventually cease production due to a hostile biological environment. Having no demonstrable inherent process of disposal of these collagen bundles, this excessive collagen tends to linger to form the bulk of keloids. The lesions eventually become symptomatic and aesthetically unacceptable, and therapeutic intervention is sought. Of all available treatments, such as post-resection radiotherapy, primary radiotherapy in selected cases and primary brachytherapy stand out above any other form of treatment. Be it brachytherapy or external beam treatment, one fundamental aspect of radiation action is the process of “radiolysis”, explaining why “radiobiological” approaches have been ineffective.