Sounding a warning bell? Documentation of the increased utilization of accelerated partial breast irradiation

摘要

Whole-breast irradiation (WBI) has become the standard of care following breast-conserving surgery in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Patterns of failure in these patients suggest that limiting radiation therapy to the himpectomy cavity via accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) may produce acceptable clinical outcomes in properly selected patients (1-4). APBI can be delivered via multiple techniques, including single catheter-based brachytherapy, interstitial brachytherapy, intraoperative radiation, and external beam irradiation (EBI). It has been widely acknowledged that APBI provides several potential advantages over WBI, including both decreased overall treatment times and reduced radiation dose delivery to normal breast tissue and adjacent organs.