Abstract
Introduction. To evaluate the dose distribution and coverage of axilla using only tangential field for whole breast radiotherapy (RT) at three institutions in Korea. Methods. We used computed tomography (CT) images of nine consecutive 1-2 sentinel lymph node-positive patients who underwent breast conserving surgery and whole breast RT without axillary lymph node (ALN) dissection for clinical T1-2N0 breast cancer. The CT data were transferred to three radiation oncologists in 3 institutions and each radiation oncologist created treatment plans for all nine patients; a total of 27 treatment plans were analyzed. Results. The mean doses delivered to levels I and II were 31.9 Gy (9.9–47.9 Gy) and 22.3 Gy (3.4–47.7 Gy). Ninety-five percent of levels I and II received a mean dose of 11.8 Gy (0.4–43.0 Gy) and 3.0 Gy (0.3–40.0 Gy). The percent volumes of levels I and II covered by 95% of the prescribed dose were only 29.0% (0.2–74.1%) and 11.5% (0.0–70.1%). The dose distribution and coverage of axilla were significantly different between three institutions (p = 0.001). Conclusion. There were discrepancies in ALN coverage between three institutions. A standardization of whole breast RT technique through further research with a nationwide scale is needed.
Highlights
To evaluate the dose distribution and coverage of axilla using only tangential field for whole breast radiotherapy (RT) at three institutions in Korea
The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011 trial showed that patients with early breast cancer and limited sentinel node involvement receiving lumpectomy, whole breast radiotherapy (RT), and adjuvant systemic treatment no longer require axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) [1, 2]
Ninety-five percent of levels I and II received a mean dose of 11.8 Gy and 3.0 Gy (0.3–40.0 Gy), respectively, and the percent volumes of levels I and II covered by the 95% of prescribed dose were only 29.0% and 11.5% (0.0–70.1%), respectively
Summary
The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011 trial showed that patients with early breast cancer and limited sentinel node involvement receiving lumpectomy, whole breast radiotherapy (RT), and adjuvant systemic treatment no longer require axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) [1, 2]. Previous studies have explored ALN coverage of the standard or high tangential field for whole breast RT [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13], and the axillary mean doses were 20–50 Gy for axilla level I and 3–47 Gy for level II [4,5,6,7,8]. We evaluated the dose distribution and coverage of axilla levels I-II using only the tangential field for whole breast RT with same patient simulation data at International Journal of Breast Cancer three institutions (Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, and Korea University Medical Center) in Korea
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