Long-term outcome with interstitial brachytherapy boost in the treatment of women with early-stage breast cancer
Abstract
We evaluated 215 patients who underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS) followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in our institute between October 1996 and February 2004. External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) was performed using a Cobalt- 60 or linear accelerator (LINAC), the boost was administered via high dose rate interstitial brachytherapy (HDR BRT) employing the Gammamed afterloading system.
Patient survival was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method (disease-free survival DFS, overall survival OS). Our data show that the HDR interstitial brachytherapy boost offers both excellent local control and favorable cosmetic effect to the patient, as long as the indications are followed closely.
This therapeutic approach is suitable for treatment of tumors localized deeper than 2.8 cm under the surface and in patients with voluminous breasts.