Toxicity of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Following Breast Conservative Surgery in Breast Cancer ()
Affiliation(s)
1Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
2Radiotherapy Department, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
3Department of Surgical Oncology South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
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.
Share and Cite:
Morsy, A. , Hammouda, S. , Shehata, S. and Zedan, A. (2019) Toxicity of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Following Breast Conservative Surgery in Breast Cancer.
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
10, 371-381. doi:
10.4236/jct.2019.105031.