scholarly journals Dose Volume Relationship in Estimating Cardiac Doses in Breast Cancer Radiotherapy

Author(s):  
Lucy Pattanayak ◽  
Swodeep Mohanty ◽  
Deepak Kumar Sahu ◽  
Tapas Kumar Dash ◽  
Itishree Priyadarsini

Introduction: Radiation therapy is an integral part of adjuvant treatment for breast cancer which reduces local recurrence and significantly increases survival. But, radiation therapy also has the propensity to increase cardiac morbidity and mortality due to dose received by the heart which is more in left-sided breast cancer. Mean Heart dose and Maximum Heart Distance (MHD) are two parameters to study dose received by the heart. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine individual doses received by the heart and to correlate MHD with the mean heart dose received by heart in carcinoma breast patients receiving radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: Ninety patients of histologically proven carcinoma breast who attended the Department of Radiotherapy, Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer, Cuttack from January 2017 to January 2019 were selected for a prospective observational study. All patients were treated with 3D Conformal Radiotherapy technique using free breathing multi slice Computed Tomography (CT) scans to contour target and vital organs. Parallel opposed tangential treatment plans were generated for each patient. Individual dose received by the heart and MHD was assessed for each case. SPSS version 21 used for statistical analysis. The Spearman’s Rho test was used for correlation of MHD with Mean heart dose. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparing mean of MHD in left-sided and right-sided breast cancer. The Independent t-test was used for comparing means of Mean heart dose in left-sided and right-sided breast cancer. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The Mean Heart Dose was 4.63 Gy for left-sided breast carcinoma patients and 0.846 Gy for right-sided breast cancer and there was a significant difference (p<0.001). Mean MHD for left-sided breast cancer was 2.974 cm while for right-sided it was 0.017 cm, the difference was statistically significant (p-value <0.001). MHD also correlated positively with Mean Heart Dose with correlation coefficient of 0.849 and p-value <0.001. Conclusion: MHD and Mean Heart dose were significantly higher in left-sided breast cancer receiving radiotherapy. MHD was also found to be positively related to Mean Heart dose and therefore found to be an important predictor of cardiac dose. For right-sided breast carcinoma receiving radiotherapy, free breathing technique using 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy (3DCRT) will suffice in terms of cardiac dose.

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Falco ◽  
Bartłomiej Masojć ◽  
Agnieszka Macała ◽  
Magdalena Łukowiak ◽  
Piotr Woźniak ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients with left breast cancer who undergo radiotherapy have a non-negligible risk of developing radiation-induced cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardioprotection can be achieved through better treatment planning protocols and through respiratory gating techniques, including deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH). Several dosimetric studies have shown that DIBH reduces the cardiac dose, but clinical data confirming this effect is limited. The aim of the study was to compare the mean heart dose (MHD) in patients with left breast cancer who underwent radiotherapy at our institution as we transitioned from non-gated free-breathing (FB) radiotherapy to gated radiotherapy (FB-GRT), and finally to DIBH. Patients and methods Retrospective study involving 2022 breast cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy at West Pomeranian Oncology Center in Szczecin from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2017. We compared the MHD in these patients according to year of treatment and technique. Results Overall, the MHD for patients with left breast cancer in our cohort was 3.37 Gy. MHD values in the patients treated with DIBH were significantly lower than in patients treated with non-gated FB (2.1 vs. 3.48 Gy, p < 0.0001) and gated FB (3.28 Gy, p < 0.0001). The lowest MHD values over the four-year period were observed in 2017, when nearly 85% of left breast cancer patients were treated with DIBH. The proportion of patients exposed to high (> 4 Gy) MHD values decreased every year, from 40% in 2014 to 7.9% in 2017, while the percentage of patients receiving DIBH increased. Conclusions Compared to free-breathing techniques (both gated and non-gated), DIBH reduces the mean radiation dose to the heart in patients with left breast cancer. These findings support the use of DIBH in patients with left breast cancer treated with radiotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Zhang ◽  
Daming Li ◽  
Feng Peng ◽  
ZhiBo Tan ◽  
PengFei Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract For patients with left-sided breast cancer (LBC), postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) has been shown to improve the overall survival and many advanced planning techniques was adopted in PMRT. We aim to use an innovative VMAT technique to enhance the conformity of PTV and reduce the scattering dose of surrounding OARs, thereby reducing the long-term toxicity of the heart as well as ipsilateral lung (IL). The study further analyzes the more appropriate treatment planning techniques for personalized LBC patients with PMRT. 35 LBC patients were retrospectively selected undergoing PMRT. The PTV included lymph nodes, chest walls, excluding internal mammary nodes, where 95% of PTV receiving the prescription dose of 50Gy (2Gy/fraction) with three different techniques, VMAT, IMRT, Hybrid VMAT. Furthermore, the ratio of Heart Volume in Tangent line and heart volume (RHVTL) was proposed to evaluate the relative antonymy position between patient's heart and PTV, which hypothetically represents the complexity of treatment planning. The data from this study showed that for LBC patients undergoing PMRT, the CI from VMAT was 0.85 (IMRT and H-VMAT were 0.77 and 0.83), the heart D mean was 502.9cGy (IMRT and H-VMAT were 675.6cGy and 687cGy) and the V20 of IL was 21.3 as the lowest of the three techniques, but the dose of the contralateral breast (CB) and contralateral lung increased noticeably. In H-VMAT and IMRT, the mean heart dose was significantly related to RHVTL, with R-values of 0.911 and 0.892 respectively, while the values in VMAT was 0.613, thus the VMAT technique was relatively unaffected by the difficulty of treatment plan. For RHVTL values exceed than 0.06, the mean heart dose under VMAT technique raised by 98.7cGy compared to the RHVTL value of less than 0.06, but H-VMAT and IMRT increased by 233cGy and 261.58cGy individually. This study illustrates that separated fields and adjacent fields in VMAT technique obtained the optimal conformality and lowest doses of heart in three techniques for LBC with PMRT. Thus, based on the results of our preliminary study, the VMAT technique is highly recommended when RHVTL is exceeded 0.06.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen Yu ◽  
Sean S. Park ◽  
Michael G. Herman ◽  
Katja Langen ◽  
Minesh Mehta ◽  
...  

Purpose: To assess dose errors caused by the interplay effects of free-breathing (FB) motion and to assess the value of breath-hold (BH) in terms of cardiac dose reduction for scanning beam proton therapy (SBPT). Materials and Methods: Three patients with left-sided breast cancer previously treated with photon therapy were included in this dosimetric study: 2 following breast-conserving surgery with 2 hypothetical target volumes (whole breast alone and whole breast plus regional nodes, including supraclavicular, axillary, and internal mammary lymph nodes); and 1 postmastectomy, with the target volume including the chest wall plus regional nodes. SBPT plans were generated with various beam angles that ranged between 2 tangential directions. For treatment with FB, nominal dose and dose with interplay effects considered were calculated based on FB 4-dimensional computed tomography scans. SBPT plans on the BH computed tomography were also calculated for one of the patients, who was selected to be treated with photon therapy with BH. Results: Dosimetric differences between nominal and interplay dose were small (average target mean dose, −0.06 Gy; range, −0.23 to 0.06 Gy; average heart mean dose, 0.001 Gy; range, −0.12 to 0.05 Gy). The largest dose deviations occurred in plans calculated with tangential beam arrangements; the smallest was noted with the en face beam. The average value of the mean heart dose with FB was <1 Gy. For the selected patient, the mean heart doses were 0.5 and 0.2 Gy for FB and BH, respectively. Conclusion: Dose deviations caused by the interplay effects of respiratory motion during FB do not have a significant impact in SBPT with en face beam arrangement. BH does not significantly reduce cardiac dose. SBPT delivery is feasible with FB and can provide optimal target coverage and maximal sparing of the cardiopulmonary system, which can translate into improved clinical outcomes and a decrease in treatment-related morbidity in left-sided breast cancer patients or those who require internal mammary node coverage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 106 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 34-34
Author(s):  
Ehab Saad ◽  
Khaled.M. Elshahat ◽  
Sarah Hazem ◽  
Nadia Ebrahim ◽  
Nada Osama ◽  
...  

Introduction and Objective: In adjuvant radiotherapy for left breast cancer, a significant heart volume may be included in the radiation field leading to long-term cardiac toxicities. Deep inspiratory breath hold technique (DIBH) leads to chest wall separation away from the heart and thus can reduce the heart dose compared to free breathing technique. The aim of this study is to correlate dosimetrically the degree of chest wall expansion measured on planning 4D-CT scan to the heart dose in left breast cancer irradiation using DIBH technique. Materials and Methods: Thirty four patients with left breast cancer planned for adjuvant radiotherapy were included. All patients were scanned by Varian RPM (Real Time Position Managment) respiratory gating system using infrared reflecting markers and a video camera to detect the respiratory motion. IMRT or VMAT plans were done for all patients with a prescribed dose 50Gy/25fr/5w with or without operative bed boost dose 10Gy/5fr/1w. The degree of chest wall expansion was identified by measuring the amplitude of DIBH breathing curve from baseline in planning 4D-CT scan in centimeters. The depth of expansion was correlated dosimetrically with the heart V20, V30, and mean heartdose. Results: The mean distance of chest wall expansion was 2.9cm. The mean left lung dose was 8.6Gy. The mean left lung V20 was 13.8%. The mean heart dose was 1.8Gy. The mean heart V30 was 0.6%. A statistically significant reduction of the mean heart dose and V30 was observed with chest wall expansion of 1.4cm or higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: In DIBH technique, the depth of chest wall expansion in 4DCT planning is dosimetrically correlated with the cardiac dose reduction during adjuvant irradiation of left breast cancer. Further clinical studies are needed to translate this dosimetric advantage into clinical benefit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heejoo Ko ◽  
Jee Suk Chang ◽  
Jin Young Moon ◽  
Won Hee Lee ◽  
Chirag Shah ◽  
...  

PurposeHow modern cardiac sparing techniques and beam delivery systems using advanced x-ray and proton beam therapy (PBT) can reduce incidental radiation exposure doses to cardiac and pulmonary organs individually or in any combination is poorly investigated.MethodsAmong 15 patients with left-sided breast cancer, partial wide tangential 3D-conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) delivered in conventional fractionation (CF) or hypofractionated (HF) schedules; PBT delivered in a CF schedule; and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivered in an HF schedule, each under continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and free-breathing (FB) conditions, were examined. Target volume coverage and doses to organs-at-risk (OARs) were calculated for each technique. Outcomes were compared with one-way analysis of variance and the Bonferroni test, with p-values &lt;0.05 considered significant.ResultsTarget volume coverage was within acceptable levels in all interventions, except for the internal mammary lymph node D95 (99% in PBT, 90% in VMAT-CPAP, 84% in VMAT-FB, and 74% in 3DCRT). The mean heart dose (MHD) was the lowest in PBT (&lt;1 Gy) and VMAT-CPAP (2.2 Gy) and the highest in 3DCRT with CF/FB (7.8 Gy), respectively. The mean lung dose (MLD) was the highest in 3DCRT-CF-FB (20 Gy) and the lowest in both VMAT-HF-CPAP and PBT (approximately 5–6 Gy). VMAT-HF-CPAP and PBT delivered a comparable maximum dose to the left ascending artery (7.2 and 6.13 Gy, respectively).ConclusionsBoth proton and VMAT in combination with CPAP can minimize the radiation exposure to heart and lung with optimal target coverage in regional RT for left-sided breast cancer. The clinical relevance of these differences is yet to be elucidated. Continued efforts are needed to minimize radiation exposures during RT treatment to maximize its therapeutic index.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
David Samuel Kereh ◽  
John Pieter ◽  
William Hamdani ◽  
Haryasena Haryasena ◽  
Daniel Sampepajung ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: AGR2 expression is associated with luminal breast cancer. Overexpression of AGR2 is a predictor of poor prognosis. Several studies have found correlations between AGR2 in disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in breast cancer patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the correlation between anterior Gradient2 (AGR2) expression with the incidence of distant metastases in luminal breast cancer. METHODS: This study was an observational study using a cross-sectional method and was conducted at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital and the network. ELISA methods examine AGR2 expression from blood serum of breast cancer patients. To compare the AGR2 expression in metastatic patients and the non-metastatic patient was tested with Mann Whitney test. The correlation of AGR2 expression and metastasis was tested with the Rank Spearman test. RESULTS: The mean value of AGR2 antibody expression on ELISA in this study was 2.90 ± 1.82 ng/dl, and its cut-off point was 2.1 ng/dl. Based on this cut-off point value, 14 subjects (66.7%) had overexpression of AGR2 serum ELISA, and 7 subjects (33.3%) had not. The mean value AGR2 was significantly higher in metastatic than not metastatic, 3.77 versus 1.76 (p < 0.01). The Spearman rank test obtained a p-value for the 2 tail test of 0.003 (p < 0.05), which showed a significant correlation of both, while the correlation coefficient of 0.612 showed a strong positive correlation of AGR2 overexpression and metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: AGR2 expression is correlated with metastasis in Luminal breast cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Szilvia Gaál ◽  
Zsuzsanna Kahán ◽  
Viktor Paczona ◽  
Renáta Kószó ◽  
Rita Drencsényi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Studying the clinical utility of deep-inspirational breath-hold (DIBH) in left breast cancer radiotherapy (RT) was aimed at focusing on dosimetry and feasibility aspects. Methods In this prospective trial all enrolled patients went through planning CT in supine position under both DIBH and free breathing (FB); in whole breast irradiation (WBI) cases prone CT was also taken. In 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) plans heart, left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), ipsilateral lung and contralateral breast doses were analyzed. The acceptance of DIBH technique as reported by the patients and the staff was analyzed; post-RT side-effects including radiation lung changes (visual scores and lung density measurements) were collected. Results Among 130 enrolled patients 26 were not suitable for the technique while in 16, heart or LAD dose constraints were not met in the DIBH plans. Among 54 and 34 patients receiving WBI and postmastectomy/nodal RT, respectively with DIBH, mean heart dose (MHD) was reduced to < 50%, the heart V25 Gy to < 20%, the LAD mean dose to < 40% and the LAD maximum dose to about 50% as compared to that under FB; the magnitude of benefit was related to the relative increase of the ipsilateral lung volume at DIBH. Nevertheless, heart and LAD dose differences (DIBH vs. FB) individually varied. Among the WBI cases at least one heart/LAD dose parameter was more favorable in the prone or in the supine FB plan in 15 and 4 cases, respectively; differences were numerically small. All DIBH patients completed the RT, inter-fraction repositioning accuracy and radiation side-effects were similar to that of other breast RT techniques. Both the patients and radiographers were satisfied with the technique. Conclusions DIBH is an excellent heart sparing technique in breast RT, but about one-third of the patients do not benefit from that otherwise laborious procedure or benefit less than from an alternative method. Trial registration: retrospectively registered under ISRCTN14360721 (February 12, 2021)


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