The purpose of this study is to determine whether bacterial decolonization of the nares and skin prior to treatment with radiotherapy (RT) for patients with cancers of the head and neck or breast, can prevent high-grade radiation dermatitis (RD) and improve quality of life. This study is being conducted because prior studies from this research group have found bacterial colonization in the nose prior to initiation of RT to be associated with an increased risk of high-grade RD. Patients in the treatment arm will receive pretreatment with mupirocin ointment to the nares and chlorhexidine wash to the body while patients in the control arm will receive standard of care treatment. Bacterial cultures will be taken from the nares and skin, and participants will also complete a quality of life questionnaire before and after RT.

Patients in the control arm will be treated according to standard of care without any radiation dermatitis prophylaxis.

Patients in the intervention arm will receive a decolonization regimen, consisting of intranasal mupirocin ointment to be applied twice daily to the nares and chlorhexidine wash to be used once daily to the body.

The number of high-grade radiation dermatitis events (grade 2-5) were assessed at the end of treatment. Instances of Grade 2-5 radiation dermatitis was assessed using photographs taken during the final radiation therapy visit. A blinded dermatologist viewed the images and assessed for toxicity grading using CTCAE Version 5.0 criteria.

Change in quality of life from the beginning to the end of radiation therapy was used to assess if patients receiving decolonization experienced less impact on quality of life compared to standard of care radiation therapy treatment based on the Skindex-16 survey. The Skindex-16 is a validated 16-item self-administered survey instrument that measures the effects of skin disease on patients' quality of life. Scores were determined based on changes from baseline in the three scale subcategories: Symptoms (four items, range 0-24), Emotions (seven items, range 0-42), and Functioning (five items, range 0-30) where 0 = never bothered and 6 = always bothered. Net positive changes in respective subscale scoring were correlated with an improvement in that particular Quality of life assessment (i.e., Symptoms, Emotions, Functioning), while net negative changes in scoring corresponded to a decrease in that particular Quality of life assessment.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether bacterial decolonization of the nares and skin prior to treatment with radiotherapy (RT) for patients with cancers of the head and neck or breast, can prevent high-grade radiation dermatitis (RD) and improve quality of life. This study is being conducted because prior studies from this research group have found bacterial colonization in the nose prior to initiation of RT to be associated with an increased risk of high-grade RD. Patients in the treatment arm will receive pretreatment with mupirocin ointment to the nares and chlorhexidine wash to the body while patients in the control arm will receive standard of care treatment. Bacterial cultures will be taken from the nares and skin, and participants will also complete a quality of life questionnaire before and after RT.

Chlorhexidine gluconate solution: Patients in the intervention arm will receive a decolonization regimen, consisting of intranasal mupirocin ointment to be applied twice daily to the nares and chlorhexidine wash to be used once daily to the body.

Mupirocin Ointment: Patients in the intervention arm will receive a decolonization regimen, consisting of intranasal mupirocin ointment to be applied twice daily to the nares and chlorhexidine wash to be used once daily to the body.

The number of high-grade radiation dermatitis events (grade 2-5) were assessed at the end of treatment. Instances of Grade 2-5 radiation dermatitis was assessed using photographs taken during the final radiation therapy visit. A blinded dermatologist viewed the images and assessed for toxicity grading using CTCAE Version 5.0 criteria.

Intent to treat population

Patients in the intervention arm receive a decolonization regimen, consisting of intranasal mupirocin ointment to be applied twice daily to the nares and chlorhexidine wash to be used once daily to the body.