External beam accelerated partial breast irradiation versus whole breast irradiation after breast conserving surgery in women with ductal carcinoma in situ and node-negative breast cancer (RAPID): a randomised controlled trial

Publication date: Available online 5 December 2019Source: The LancetAuthor(s): Timothy J Whelan, Jim A Julian, Tanya S Berrang, Do-Hoon Kim, Isabelle Germain, Alan M Nichol, Mohamed Akra, Sophie Lavertu, Francois Germain, Anthony Fyles, Theresa Trotter, Francisco E Perera, Susan Balkwill, Susan Chafe, Thomas McGowan, Thierry Muanza, Wayne A Beckham, Boon H Chua, Chu Shu Gu, Mark N LevineSummaryBackgroundWhole breast irradiation delivered once per day over 3–5 weeks after breast conserving surgery reduces local recurrence with good cosmetic results. Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) delivered over 1 week to the tumour bed was developed to provide a more convenient treatment. In this trial, we investigated if external beam APBI was non-inferior to whole breast irradiation.MethodsWe did this multicentre, randomised, non-inferiority trial in 33 cancer centres in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Women aged 40 years or older with ductal carcinoma in situ or node-negative breast cancer treated by breast conserving surgery were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either external beam APBI (38·5 Gy in ten fractions delivered twice per day over 5–8 days) or whole breast irradiation (42·5 Gy in 16 fractions once per day over 21 days, or 50 Gy in 25 fractions once per day over 35 days). Patients and clinicans were not masked to treatment assignment. The primary outcome was ipsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR), analysed by intention to treat. The trial was design...
Source: The Lancet - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research