Partial breast irradiation was noninferior to whole breast irradiation in terms of efficacy, toxicity, and cosmetic outcomes.
Efforts to reduce the duration of adjuvant radiation therapy for patients with early-stage breast cancer have been tempered by the need to ensure that brevity does not diminish efficacy. Standard treatment has been whole-breast irradiation (WBI), generally delivered in 25–28 weekday fractions of 1.8–2.0 Gy over 5 weeks for a total dose of 50.0 to 50.4 Gy. Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is an alternative strategy that could shorten the duration of radiation to 1 week or less, while also limiting unnecessary radiation exposure to normal tissue (i.e., heart, lungs, and skin).
To compare the two strategies, European investigators conducted a multinational randomized, controlled phase III trial involving 1184 patients (age, ≥40 yea…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead
Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation
Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead
Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation
Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)