TITLE:
Toxicity of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Following Breast Conservative Surgery in Breast Cancer
AUTHORS:
Aiat Morsy, Sara H. Hammouda, Samir Shehata, Ali Zedan
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer, Hypofractionated Radiotherapy, Breast Conservative Surgery, Toxicity
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.10 No.5,
May
23,
2019
ABSTRACT: Background:Adjuvant
radiotherapy has increased disease-free and overall survival rates in breast cancer. Conventionally fractionated radiotherapy delivers 50 Gy over 5 weeks which is the standard
approach. A shorter duration of hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) will be
more convenient for patients and treatment providers if found safe and equally effective. Material and Methods: Fifty-four breast cancer
patients who underwent breast conservative surgery (BCS) were enrolled in this
study. The patients received 4005 cGy/15 fractions. A boost to the tumor bed
was administered in all patients. In this study, radiotherapy induced toxicity was evaluated. Results: In this study, the median age of our patients was 48 years with
age ranged from 28 to 69 years. Acute skin toxicity was assessed, and it was
noted that grade 2 skin toxicity was shown in only 6 patients (11.1%) at the
end of radiotherapy and disappeared after 6 weeks of treatment. Late skin
toxicity (telangectasia,
hyperpigmentation, and subcutaneous fibrosis) was assessed and
showed that most patients had grade 0 toxicity with no grade 3 toxicity at all.
Regarding pulmonary toxicity, 5 patients (9.3%) developed acute pneumonitis and
as regards chronic lung toxicity, it was evident in only 3 patients, 2 patients
(3.7%) were grade 1 and 1 patient (1.9%) was grade 2. Cardiac toxicity was
evident in 2 patients (7.1%) of the left breast cancer patients. Regarding lymphoedema,
most patients that showed lymphoedema were grade 1. Conclusion: The
results confirm the safety and feasibility of adjuvant hypofractionated whole
breast radiotherapy in breast cancer patients in terms of acute and late
toxicity.