46 - Biological Basis of Radiotherapy of the Breast

Abstract

Radiation therapy is commonly used in early-stage breast cancer treatment but must be delivered carefully to minimize the risks to critical adjacent structures, such as the heart and lung. Technological advances in radiation therapy have provided us with various methods for decreasing heart and lung doses, diminishing overall treatment time, and decreasing acute and long-term toxicity with more homogenous dose distributions. These technological advances in radiation therapy continue to evolve with even faster and more novel delivery techniques intended to further tailor the treatment to patients' anatomy, improving patient convenience, and ultimately increasing the therapeutic ratio.