scholarly journals Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation as an Alternative to Whole-Breast Irradiation in Breast-Conserving Therapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Timothy M Pawlik ◽  
Henry M Kuerer

Breast-conserving therapy has been established as a standard treatment for women with early-stage breast cancer. Whole-breast irradiation has traditionally been utilized to consolidate local therapy following conservative surgery. Recently, the need for whole-breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery has become controversial, with some investigators advocating accelerated partial breast irradiation as an alternative. Accelerated partial breast irradiation is delivered over a shorter period and only to a portion of the breast. This review will examine the emerging role of accelerated partial breast irradiation in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer and review the biologic rationale for, techniques of, and limitations of partial breast irradiation following breast-conserving surgery.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyong Xiang ◽  
Zhen Ding ◽  
Lingling Feng ◽  
Ning Li

Abstract Objective This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of accelerated partial breast irradiation versus whole-breast irradiation for early-stage breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery. Materials and methods A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane libraries was performed according to the PRISMA statement the last 10 years to April 7, 2020 to identify the randomized controlled trials of APBI versus WBI for treating patients with early-stage breast cancer. Two independent observers evaluated the identified studies. The obtained data were analyzed using the RevMan 5.3 software. Results A total of 10 randomized controlled trials involving 15,500 patients with early-stage breast cancer were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and included in this meta-analysis. In this meta-analysis, we included ten studies that reported local recurrence and found significant differences in local recurrence rates (HR = 1.46; 95% CI 1.20–1.79, P = 0.0002). Further analysis showed that this difference may be related to the choice of treatment methods. No differences in distant metastasis, breast cancer deaths, contralateral breast cancer, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates were observed between WBI and APBI groups. There was no significant difference in late toxicity, cosmetic outcomes and quality of life between the two groups, the compliance and tolerance of the patients were well. Compared to whole breast irradiation, accelerated partial breast irradiation significantly reduced serious (≥ grade 2) early toxicities, especially regarding acute skin toxicity. Conclusions The analysis showed that patients receiving APBI had a higher local recurrence rate, but no differences in distant metastasis, breast cancer deaths, contralateral breast cancer, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates.


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