Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation (HF-WBI) compared with conventionally fractionated (CF) WBI.
Materials and methods
Patients with early breast cancer (stages 0–II and <3 positive lymph nodes) who had undergone breast-conserving surgery were eligible for the HF-WBI study. HF-WBI was administered at 43.2 Gy in 16 fractions over 3.2 weeks to the whole breast with an additional tumor-bed boost of 8.1 Gy in 3 fractions over 3 days for positive surgical margins or those <5 mm. CF-WBI was administered at 50 Gy in 25 fractions over 5 weeks to the whole breast with an additional tumor-bed boost of 16 Gy in 8 fractions over 1.4 weeks to 6 Gy in 3 fractions over 3 days, depending on margin status.
Results
From April 1, 2006, to December 31, 2010, 717 patients were registered and 734 breasts were treated by HF-WBI. In the same period, 381 patients and 393 breasts who matched the study criteria chose CF-WBI, so the total number of patients in this comparison was 1,098. Grade 2 acute skin reactions were observed for 24 patients (3 %) in the HF-WBI group and 53 patients (14 %) in the CF-WBI (p < 0.001) group. The median follow-up period was 27 months. Two cases of intrabreast tumor recurrence were observed in each treatment group. Regional lymph node recurrence was observed in 1 HF-WBI patient and 2 CF-WBI patients.
Conclusion
HF-WBI is superior to CF-WBI in terms of acute skin reaction and has the same short-term efficacy.
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The authors report no conflict of interest or financial support for this study.
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Karasawa, K., Kunogi, H., Hirai, T. et al. Comparison of hypofractionated and conventionally fractionated whole-breast irradiation for early breast cancer patients: a single-institute study of 1,098 patients. Breast Cancer 21, 402–408 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-012-0406-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-012-0406-6