Is adaptive treatment planning in multi-catheter interstitial breast brachytherapy necessary?

A common treatment option for breast cancer patients is accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) often applied in form of high dose-rate (HDR) multi-catheter interstitial brachytherapy (iBT). The therapy outcome proved to be comparable to other treatment options, such as whole breast irradiation or a percutaneous APBI treatment, with regards to local recurrence rate, disease free survival, overall survival, quality of life, late side effects, toxicity and cosmetic outcome [1 –8]. APBI using multi-catheter iBT is defined as irradiation to a predefined clinical target volume encompassing the tumor bed and a surgical margin without any additional margin for planning uncertainties.
Source: Radiotherapy and Oncology - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research