Radiotherapy is the most frequently administered treatment modality in patients with locally advanced SCCHN. A considerable number of these patients receive concurrent chemotherapy, generally including cisplatin or carboplatin [
1]. Many of these patients, particularly those receiving radio-chemotherapy, experience severe acute side effects including radiation dermatitis. Severe skin reactions may require an interruption of the radiotherapy series, which can lead to a worsening of the patients’ prognoses. On multivariate analyses of a retrospective study of 153 patients irradiated for SCCHN, better overall survival was significantly associated with no interruptions of radiotherapy longer than one week (relative risk: 2.59, 95% confidence interval: 1.15–5.78,
p = 0.021) [
2]. So was local control (relative risk: 3.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.26–8.79,
p = 0.015). In a SEER database analysis, patients irradiated for larynx cancer with an interruption of their radiotherapy had a 68% (95% confidence interval: 41% to 200%) increased risk of death than those patients without an interruption. Patients with head-and-neck cancers at other sites showed similar associations. However, due to the relatively small numbers of patients, the difference between patients who did and who did experience interruptions of radiotherapy did not reach significance [
3]. To avoid such interruptions of radiotherapy due to radiation dermatitis, it is reasonable to avoid or at least significantly postpone grade 2 skin reactions. This appears a challenge for radiation oncologists, since in previous studies grade ≥ 2 radiation dermatitis occurred in 86% to 92% of patients, despite administration of standard skin care procedures from the first day of radiotherapy [
1,
4,
5]. Therefore, skin care in patients irradiated for SCCHN needs to be improved, particularly to avoid interruptions of radiotherapy and a subsequent impairment of the patient’s prognoses in terms of local control and overall survival [
2,
3]. The use of an absorbent, self-adhesive dressing represents a promising approach. According to a systematic inpatient controlled clinical, such dressings can significantly decrease radiation-related erythema of the skin in breast cancer patients [
6]. Promising results have also been reported for the prevention of sacral and heel pressure ulcers in trauma and critically ill patients and the treatment of partial-thickness thermal burns [
7,
8]. More recently, a new dressing named Mepitel® Film was developed that is thinner and softer than previous dressings and, therefore, appears more comfortable for the patients than the previous dressings. The randomized RAREST-01 compares this new dressing to standard procedures of skin care in patients with locally advanced SCCHN receiving radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy. If Mepitel® Film can significantly reduce the rate of grade ≥ 2 radiation dermatitis in patients irradiated for locally advanced SCCHN it would have the potential to become the new standard of skin care in this group of patients.