Abstract ES4-2: Treatment morbidity and quality of life considerations

Abstract Partial breast irradiation was introduced to reduce treatment times, improve convenience of radiotherapy and reduce radiation exposure to the breast and surrounding normal tissues. A number of techniques have been developed including interstitial brachytherapy, single catheter-based brachytherapy, intraoperative therapy, and 3 dimensional conformal or intensity modulated radiotherapy. The toxicity profile of partial breast irradiation has been dependent on the different techniques used. In general acute toxicity has been less than that observed with whole breast irradiation, particularly for intraoperative approaches where radiotherapy is delivered at the time of breast conserving surgery. Reports of late toxicity have varied. The majority of trials have observed no increase in late toxicity with interstitial brachytherapy and intraoperative treatment when compared to whole breast irradiation. Some studies of 3D conformal radiotherapy have reported an increase in late radiation toxicity such as telangiectasia of the skin and subcutaneous fibrosis of the breast. Limited data are available on cosmetic outcome and quality of life. Again, results to date have varied with some studies reporting similar cosmetic results and others indicating an increase in adverse cosmesis with partial breast irradiation when compared to whole breast irradiation. This presentation will review mature results from completed trials and discuss radiobiological inferences and implications for clinical decision making. Citation Format: Whelan T. Treatment morbidity and quality of life considerations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr ES4-2.