Risk of heart failure after systemic treatment for early breast cancer: results of a cohort study.

PURPOSE: Anthracyclines and trastuzumab can increase the risk of heart failure (HF), but long-term cardiotoxicity data in breast cancer (BC) patients treated at younger ages are limited. Furthermore, it is unknown whether aromatase inhibitors are associated with HF risk. METHODS: HF risk was studied in a multicenter cohort of BC survivors treated during 2000-2009, at age < 61 years. Information on treatment and cardiovascular disease incidence was collected through medical records, general practitioners and cardiologists. Analyses included multivariable Cox regression and cumulative incidence curves. RESULTS: In total, 10,209 women with a median age at BC diagnosis of 50.3 years and a median follow-up of 8.9 years were enrolled in the study. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy was associated with HF (hazard ratio [HR] 2.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41-3.39) and risk increased with increasing cumulative anthracycline dose. For trastuzumab, HF risk was highest within the first 2 years after treatment (HR0-2 years: 13.06, 95% CI 5.70-29.92) and decreased thereafter (HR2-4 years: 4.84, 95% CI 1.99-11.75 and HR≥4 years: 0.64, 95% CI 0.23-1.81). The 10-year cumulative incidence of HF was 4.8% (95% CI 3.2-6.8) among patients treated with anthracyclines and trastuzumab. One-third of patients who developed HF after trastuzumab had long-term impaired cardiac function. Patients treated with aromatase inhibitors alone also had higher HF risk (HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.24-3.82) compared to patients not receiving endocrine therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results stress the importance of considering anthracycline-free regimens in BC patients who need trastuzumab-containing treatment. The association between aromatase inhibitors and HF needs confirmation.

Cardiovascular disease incidence after internal mammary chain irradiation and anthracycline-based chemotherapy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Improved breast cancer (BC) survival and evidence showing beneficial effects of internal mammary chain (IMC) irradiation underscore the importance of studying late cardiovascular effects of BC treatment. METHODS: We assessed cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence in 14,645 Dutch BC patients aged <62 years, treated during 1970-2009. Analyses included proportional hazards models and general population comparisons. RESULTS: CVD rate-ratio for left-versus-right breast irradiation without IMC was 1.11 (95% CI 0.93-1.32). Compared to right-sided breast irradiation only, IMC irradiation (interquartile range mean heart doses 9-17 Gy) was associated with increases in CVD rate overall, ischaemic heart disease (IHD), heart failure (HF) and valvular heart disease (hazard ratios (HRs): 1.6-2.4). IHD risk remained increased until at least 20 years after treatment. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy was associated with an increased HF rate (HR = 4.18, 95% CI 3.07-5.69), emerging <5 years and remaining increased at least 10-15 years after treatment. IMC irradiation combined with anthracycline-based chemotherapy was associated with substantially increased HF rate (HR = 9.23 95% CI 6.01-14.18), compared to neither IMC irradiation nor anthracycline-based chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Women treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy and IMC irradiation (in an older era) with considerable mean heart dose exposure have substantially increased incidence of several CVDs. Screening may be appropriate for some BC patient groups.

Omitting re-excision for focally positive margins after breast-conserving surgery does not impair disease-free and overall survival.

PURPOSE: In contrast to other countries, the Dutch breast cancer guideline does not recommend re-excision for focally positive margins after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in invasive tumor and does recommend whole-breast irradiation including boost. We investigated whether omitting re-excision as compared to performing re-excision affects prognosis with a retrospective population-based cohort study. METHODS: The total cohort included 32,119 women with primary BCS for T1-T3 breast cancer diagnosed between 2003 and 2008 from the nationwide Netherlands cancer registry. The subcohort included 10,433 patients in whom the resection margins were registered. Outcome measures were 5-year ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) rate, 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate, and 10-year overall survival (OS) rate. RESULTS: In the total cohort, 25,878 (80.6%) did not have re-excision, 2368 (7.4%) had re-excision by BCS, and 3873 (12.1%) had re-excision by mastectomy. Five-year IBTR rates were 2.1, 2.8, and 2.9%, respectively (p = 0.001). In the subcohort, 7820 (75.0%) had negative margins without re-excision, 492 (4.7%) had focally positive margins without re-excision, 586 (5.6%) had focally positive margins and underwent re-excision, and 1535 (14.7%) had extensively positive margins and underwent re-excision. Five-year IBTR rate was 2.3, 2.9, 1.1, and 2.9%, respectively (p = 0.099). Compared to omitting re-excision, performing re-excision for focally positive margins was associated with lower risk of IBTR (adjusted HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.11-0.82), but not with DFS (adjusted HR 0.83 95% CI 0.59-1.17) nor with OS (adjusted HR 1.17 95% CI 0.87-1.59). CONCLUSION: Omitting re-excision in breast cancer patients for focally positive margins after BCS does not impair DFS and OS, provided that whole-breast irradiation including boost is given.

Extent of ductal carcinoma in situ according to breast cancer subtypes: a population-based cohort study.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a precursor of invasive breast carcinoma (IBC). The DCIS component is often more extensive than the invasive component, which affects local control. The aim of our study was to analyze features of DCIS within different IBC subtypes, which may contribute to the optimization of personalized approaches for patients with IBC. Patients with IBC reported according to the synoptic reporting module in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2015 were included. Data extraction included characteristics of the invasive component and, if present, several features of the DCIS component. Resection margin status analyses were restricted to patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Differences between subtypes were tested by a Chi-square test, spearman's Rho test or a one-way ANOVA test. Overall, 36.937 cases of IBC were included. About half of the IBCs (n = 16.014; 43.4 %) were associated with DCIS. Her2+ IBC (irrespective of ER status) was associated with a higher prevalence of adjacent DCIS, a larger extent of DCIS and a higher rate of irradicality of the DCIS component as compared to ER+/Her2- and triple-negative subtypes (P < 0.0001 for all variables). The prevalence of DCIS in triple-negative IBC on the other hand was lowest. In this large population-based cohort study, we showed significant differences between the prevalence and extent of DCIS according to IBC subtypes, which is also reflected in the resection margin status in patients treated with BCS. Our data provide important information regarding the optimization of local therapy according to IBC subtypes.

Breast conserving therapy versus mastectomy for stage I-II breast cancer: 20 year follow-up of the EORTC 10801 phase 3 randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: The EORTC 10801 trial compared breast-conserving therapy (BCT) with modified radical mastectomy (MRM) in patients with tumours 5 cm or smaller and axillary node negative or positive disease. Compared with BCT, MRM resulted in better local control, but did not affect overall survival or time to distant metastases. We report 20-year follow-up results. METHODS: The EORTC 10801 trial was open for accrual between 1980 and 1986 in eight centres in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, and South Africa. 448 patients were randomised to BCT and 420 to MRM. Randomisation was done centrally, stratifying patients by institute, carcinoma stage (I or II), and menopausal status. BCT comprised of lumpectomy and complete axillary clearance, followed by breast radiotherapy and a tumour-bed boost. The primary endpoint was time to distant metastasis. This analysis was done on all eligible patients, as they were randomised. FINDINGS: After a median follow-up of 22·1 years (IQR 18·5-23·8), 175 patients (42%) had distant metastases in the MRM group versus 207 (46%) in the BCT group. Furthermore, 506 patients (58%) died (232 [55%] in the MRM group and 274 [61%] in the BCT group). No significant difference was observed between BCT and MRM for time to distant metastases (hazard ratio 1·13, 95% CI 0·92-1·38; p=0·23) or for time to death (1·11, 0·94-1·33; 0·23). Cumulative incidence of distant metastases at 20 years was 42·6% (95% CI 37·8-47·5) in the MRM group and 46·9% (42·2-51·6) in the BCT group. 20-year overall survival was estimated to be 44·5% (95% CI 39·3-49·5) in the MRM group and 39·1% (34·4-43·9) in the BCT group. There was no difference between the groups in time to distant metastases or overall survival by age (time to distant metastases: <50 years 1·09 [95% CI 0·79-1·51] vs ≥50 years 1·16 [0·90-1·50]; overall survival <50 years 1·17 [0·86-1·59] vs ≥50 years 1·10 [0·89-1·37]). INTERPRETATION: BCT, including radiotherapy, offered as standard care to patients with early breast cancer seems to be justified, since long-term follow-up in this trial showed similar survival to that after mastectomy. FUNDING: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

Corrigendum to "Evaluation of image-guided and surface-guided radiotherapy for breast cancer patients treated in deep inspiration breath-hold: A single institution experience" [Tech. Innov. Patient Support Radiat. Oncol. 21 (2022) 51-57].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2022.02.001.].

The tolerance of reirradiation and hyperthermia in breast cancer patients with reconstructions.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer recurrences in previously irradiated areas are treated with reirradiation (reRT) and hyperthermia (HT). The aim of this retrospective study is to quantify the toxicity of HT in breast cancer patients with reconstruction. METHODS: Between 1992 and 2009, 36 patients were treated with reRT with a scheme of 8 fractions of 4.0 Gy in 4 weeks, and HT on a total of 37 tissue reconstructions. The types of reconstructions were: split-thickness skin graft (15), transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap (1), latissimus dorsi flap (14), rhomboid flap (1) or a combination of grafts and flaps (6). Toxicities were graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), version 3.0. Patient, tumour, and treatment characteristics predictive for the endpoints were identified in univariate and multivariate analyses. The primary endpoint was HT toxicity. Secondary endpoints were acute and late radiotherapy (RT) toxicity, complete response (CR), local control (LC) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 64 months. Grade 2 HT toxicity occurred in four patients and grade 3 in three. The three patients with grade 3 HT toxicity required reoperation. None of the evaluated parameters showed a significant relationship with HT toxicity. The CR rate in 15 patients with macroscopic disease was 80%. The 3 and 5 year LC rates were 74% and 69%; the median OS was 55 months. CONCLUSIONS: Combined reRT and HT in breast cancer patients with reconstruction is safe and effective.

Exposure of the heart and cardiac valves in women irradiated for breast cancer 1970-2009.

Purpose: To describe cardiac exposure from breast cancer radiotherapy regimens used during 1970-2009 for the development of dose-response relationships and to consider the associated radiation-risks using existing dose-response relationships. Material and methods: Radiotherapy charts for 771 women in the Netherlands selected for case control studies of heart disease after breast cancer radiotherapy were used to reconstruct 44 regimens on a typical CT-dataset. Doses were estimated for the whole heart (WH), left ventricle (LV) and cardiac valves. Results: For breast/chest wall radiotherapy average WH doses decreased during 1970-2009. For internal mammary chain (IMC) radiotherapy WH doses were highest during the 1980s and 1990s when direct anterior fields were used and reduced in the 2000s when oblique fields were introduced. Average doses varied substantially for IMC regimens (WH 2-33 Gy, LV < 1-23 Gy). For cardiac valves, at least one valve received >30 Gy from most regimens. Conclusions: Radiation-risks of IHD from breast/chest wall regimens likely reduced during 1970-2009. Direct anterior IMC regimens likely increased the risks of IHD and VHD over this time period but the use of oblique IMC fields from 2003 may have lowered these risks. These data provide a unique opportunity to develop dose-response relationships.

Evaluation of image-guided and surface-guided radiotherapy for breast cancer patients treated in deep inspiration breath-hold: A single institution experience.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, deep inspiratory breath-hold is a common technique to reduce heart dose in left-sided breast radiotherapy. This study evaluates the evolution of the breath-hold technique in our institute, from portal imaging during dose delivery to continuous monitoring with surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Setup data and portal imaging results were analyzed for 98 patients treated before 2014, and SGRT data for 228 patients treated between 2018 and 2020. For the pre-SGRT group, systematic and random setup errors were calculated for different correction protocols. Residual errors and reproducibility of breath-holds were evaluated for both groups. The benefit of using SGRT for initial positioning was evaluated for another cohort of 47 patients. RESULTS: Online correction reduced the population mean error from 3.9 mm (no corrections) to 1.4 mm. Despite online setup correction, deviations greater than 3 mm were observed in about 10% and 20% of the treatment beams in ventral-dorsal and cranial-caudal directions, respectively. However, these percentages were much smaller than with offline protocols or no corrections. Mean absolute differences between breath-holds within a fraction were smaller in the SGRT-group (1.69 mm) than in the pre-SGRT-group (2.10 mm), and further improved with addition of visual feedback (1.30 mm). SGRT for positioning did not improve setup accuracy, but slightly reduced the time for imaging and setup correction, allowing completion within 3.5 min for 95% of fractions. CONCLUSION: For accurate radiotherapy breast treatments using deep inspiration breath-hold, daily imaging and correction is required. SGRT provides accurate information on patient positioning during treatment and improves patient compliance with visual feedback.

Prognosis of acute coronary syndromes after radiotherapy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy are at increased risk of subsequent acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We aimed to study if radiotherapy also influences the prognosis of these ACS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included all 398 patients diagnosed with ACS following radiotherapy from our hospital-based cohort of early breast cancer patients aged <71 years, treated 1970-2009. Cardiovascular disease incidence and cause of death were acquired through questionnaires to general practitioners and cardiologists. Internal mammary chain (IMC) irradiation delivers the highest heart doses in breast cancer radiotherapy. Hence, we compared ACS prognosis between patients treated with/without IMC-irradiation. ACS prognosis was assessed through cardiac death, death due to ACS and cardiovascular disease incidence, using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models and by estimating cumulative incidence. RESULTS: In total, 62% of patients with ACS had received IMC-irradiation and 38% did not (median age at ACS diagnosis, 67 years). Median time between breast cancer and ACS was 15 years. After ACS, ten-year cumulative risk of cardiac death was 35% for patients who had IMC-irradiation (95% confidence interval [95%CI] 29-41) compared to 24% (95%CI 17-31) for patients without IMC-irradiation (p = 0.04). After correction for confounders, IMC-irradiation remained associated with a less favourable prognosis of ACS compared to no IMC-irradiation (hazard ratio cardiac death = 1.7, 95%CI 1.1-2.5). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that radiotherapy, in case of substantial heart doses,may worsen ACS prognosis. This is an important, novel finding that may impact upon the risk-based care for breast cancer survivors with ACS.

Radiation Dose-Response for Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Breast Cancer Survivors.

PURPOSE: Previous reports suggest that radiation therapy for breast cancer (BC) can cause ischemic heart disease, with the radiation-related risk increasing linearly with mean whole heart dose (MWHD). This study aimed to validate these findings in younger BC patients and to investigate additional risk factors for radiation-related myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS AND MATERIALS: A nested case-control study was conducted within a cohort of BC survivors treated during 1970 to 2009. Cases were 183 patients with MI as their first heart disease after BC. One control per case was selected and matched on age and BC diagnosis date. Information on treatment and cardiovascular risk factors was abstracted from medical and radiation charts. Cardiac doses were estimated for each woman by reconstructing her regimen using modern 3-dimensional computed tomography planning on a typical patient computed tomography scan. RESULTS: Median age at BC of cases and controls was 50.2 years (interquartile range, 45.7-54.7). Median time to MI was 13.6 years (interquartile range, 9.9-18.1). Median MWHD was 8.9 Gy (range, 0.3-35.2 Gy). MI rate increased linearly with increasing MWHD (excess rate ratio [ERR] per Gy, 6.4%; 95% confidence interval, 1.3%-16.0%). Patients receiving ≥20 Gy MWHD had a 3.4-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.5-7.6) higher MI rate than unirradiated patients. ERRs were higher for younger women, with borderline significance (ERR<45years, 24.2%/Gy; ERR≥50years, 2.5%/Gy; Pinteraction = .054). Whole heart dose-volume parameters did not modify the dose-response relationship significantly. CONCLUSIONS: MI rate after radiation for BC increases linearly with MWHD. Reductions in MWHD are expected to contribute to better cardiovascular health of BC survivors.

Involved-field radiotherapy for patients in partial remission after chemotherapy for advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE: The use of radiotherapy in patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is controversial. The purpose of this study was to describe the role of radiotherapy in patients with advanced HL who were in partial remission (PR) after chemotherapy. METHODS: In a prospective randomized trial, patients <70 years old with previously untreated Stage III-IV HL were treated with six to eight cycles of mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone/doxorubicin, bleomycine, vinblastine hybrid chemotherapy. Patients in complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy were randomized between no further treatment and involved-field radiotherapy (IF-RT). Those in PR after six cycles received IF-RT (30 Gy to originally involved nodal areas and 18-24 Gy to extranodal sites with or without a boost). RESULTS: Of 739 enrolled patients, 57% were in CR and 33% in PR after chemotherapy. The median follow-up was 7.8 years. Patients in PR had bulky mediastinal involvement significantly more often than did those in CR after chemotherapy. The 8-year event-free survival and overall survival rate for the 227 patients in PR who received IF-RT was 76% and 84%, respectively. These rates were not significantly different from those for CR patients who received IF-RT (73% and 78%) or for those in CR who did not receive IF-RT (77% and 85%). The incidence of second malignancies in patients in PR who were treated with IF-RT was similar to that in nonirradiated patients. CONCLUSION: Patients in PR after six cycles of mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone/doxorubicine, bleomycine, vinblastine treated with IF-RT had 8-year event-free survival and overall survival rates similar to those of patients in CR, suggesting a definite role for RT in these patients.

Individualized Selection of Beam Angles and Treatment Isocenter in Tangential Breast Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE: Propose a novel method for individualized selection of beam angles and treatment isocenter in tangential breast intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: For each patient, beam and isocenter selection starts with the fully automatic generation of a large database of IMRT plans (up to 847 in this study); each of these plans belongs to a unique combination of isocenter position, lateral beam angle, and medial beam angle. The imposed hard planning constraint on patient maximum dose may result in plans with unacceptable target dose delivery. Such plans are excluded from further analyses. Owing to differences in beam setup, database plans differ in mean doses to organs at risk (OARs). These mean doses are used to construct 2-dimensional graphs, showing relationships between: (1) contralateral breast dose and ipsilateral lung dose; and (2) contralateral breast dose and heart dose (analyzed only for left-sided). The graphs can be used for selection of the isocenter and beam angles with the optimal, patient-specific tradeoffs between the mean OAR doses. For 30 previously treated patients (15 left-sided and 15 right-sided tumors), graphs were generated considering only the clinically applied isocenter with 121 tangential beam angle pairs. For 20 of the 30 patients, 6 alternative isocenters were also investigated. RESULTS: Computation time for automatic generation of 121 IMRT plans took on average 30 minutes. The generated graphs demonstrated large variations in tradeoffs between conflicting OAR objectives, depending on beam angles and patient anatomy. For patients with isocenter optimization, 847 IMRT plans were considered. Adding isocenter position optimization next to beam angle optimization had a small impact on the final plan quality. CONCLUSION: A method is proposed for individualized selection of beam angles in tangential breast IMRT. This may be especially important for patients with cardiac risk factors or an enhanced risk for the development of contralateral breast cancer.

Local control rate after the combination of re-irradiation and hyperthermia for irresectable recurrent breast cancer: Results in 248 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Randomized studies have shown that adding hyperthermia (HT) to re-irradiation (re-RT) improves treatment outcome for patients with breast cancer recurrences. We evaluated the efficacy and side effects in patients treated with re-RT and HT for irresectable locoregional breast cancer recurrences. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From September 1996 to December 2011, 248 patients with a macroscopic breast cancer recurrence were treated with re-RT and HT. Radiotherapy (RT) was applied to a dose of 32 Gy in 4 Gy fractions, twice weekly. HT was prescribed once weekly after RT. Primary endpoints for this analysis were complete response (CR) and local control (LC). Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), and toxicity. Patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related characteristics predictive for the endpoints were identified in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 32 months. The CR rate was 70%. At 1, 3, and 5 years LC was 53%, 40% and 39%, and OS was 66%, 32%, and 18%, respectively. OS after 10 years was 10%. Thermal burns developed in 23% patients, healing with conservative measures. The incidence of 5 years late grade 3 toxicity was 1%. A few patients survived more than 10 years without evidence of disease. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of re-RT and HT results in a high rate of long-term LC with acceptable late toxicity, and many patients remained locally controlled for the rest of their survival period.

Diagnostic and therapeutic ionizing radiation and the risk of a first and second primary breast cancer, with special attention for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: a critical review of the literature.

Occurrence of breast cancer is a well-known long-term side effect of ionizing radiation (both diagnostic and therapeutic). The radiation-induced breast cancer risk increases with longer follow-up, higher radiation dose and younger age of exposure. The risk for breast cancer following irradiation for lymphomas is well known. Although data regarding the carcinogenic risk of adjuvant radiotherapy for a primary breast cancer are sparse, an increased risk is suggested with longer follow-up mainly when exposed at younger age. Particularly, patients with a BRCA1/2 mutation might be more sensitive for the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation due to an impaired capacity of repairing double strand DNA breaks. This might have consequences for the use of mammography in breast cancer screening, as well as the choice between breast conserving therapy including radiotherapy and mastectomy at primary breast cancer diagnosis in young BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Good data regarding this topic, however, are scarce, mainly due to constraints in the design of performed studies. In this review, we will discuss the current literature on the association between ionizing radiation and developing breast cancer, with particular attention to patients with a BRCA1/2 mutation.

Re-irradiation and hyperthermia after surgery for recurrent breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Evaluation of efficacy and side effects of combined re-irradiation and hyperthermia electively or for subclinical disease in the management of locoregional recurrent breast cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Records of 198 patients with recurrent breast cancer treated with re-irradiation and hyperthermia from 1993 to 2010 were reviewed. Prior treatments included surgery (100%), radiotherapy (100%), chemotherapy (42%), and hormonal therapy (57%). Ninety-one patients were treated for microscopic residual disease following resection or systemic therapy and 107 patients were treated electively for areas at high risk for local recurrences. All patients were re-irradiated to 28-36Gy (median 32) and treated with 3-8 hyperthermia treatments (mean 4.36). Forty percent of the patients received concurrent hormonal therapy. Patient and tumor characteristics predictive for actuarial local control (LC) and toxicity were studied in univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 42months. Three and 5year LC-rates were 83% and 78%. Mean of T90 (tenth percentile of temperature distribution), maximum and average temperatures were 39.8°C, 43.6°C, and 41.2°C, respectively. Mean of the cumulative equivalent minutes (CEM43) at T90 was 4.58min. Number of previous chemotherapy and surgical procedures were most predictive for LC. Cumulative incidence of grade 3 and 4 late toxicity at 5years was 11.9%. The number of thermometry sensors and depth of treatment volume were associated with acute hyperthermia toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of re-irradiation and hyperthermia results in a high LC-rate with acceptable toxicity.

Practical use of the extended no action level (eNAL) correction protocol for breast cancer patients with implanted surgical clips.

PURPOSE: To describe the practical use of the extended No Action Level (eNAL) setup correction protocol for breast cancer patients with surgical clips and evaluate its impact on the setup accuracy of both tumor bed and whole breast during simultaneously integrated boost treatments. METHODS AND MATERIALS: For 80 patients, two orthogonal planar kilovoltage images and one megavoltage image (for the mediolateral beam) were acquired per fraction throughout the radiotherapy course. For setup correction, the eNAL protocol was applied, based on registration of surgical clips in the lumpectomy cavity. Differences with respect to application of a No Action Level (NAL) protocol or no protocol were quantified for tumor bed and whole breast. The correlation between clip migration during the fractionated treatment and either the method of surgery or the time elapsed from last surgery was investigated. RESULTS: The distance of the clips to their center of mass (COM), averaged over all clips and patients, was reduced by 0.9 ± 1.2 mm (mean ± 1 SD). Clip migration was similar between the group of patients starting treatment within 100 days after surgery (median, 53 days) and the group starting afterward (median, 163 days) (p = 0.20). Clip migration after conventional breast surgery (closing the breast superficially) or after lumpectomy with partial breast reconstructive techniques (sutured cavity). was not significantly different either (p = 0.22). Application of eNAL on clips resulted in residual systematic errors for the clips' COM of less than 1 mm in each direction, whereas the setup of the breast was within about 2 mm of accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical clips can be safely used for high-accuracy position verification and correction. Given compensation for time trends in the clips' COM throughout the treatment course, eNAL resulted in better setup accuracies for both tumor bed and whole breast than NAL.

Breast cancer risk in female survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma: lower risk after smaller radiation volumes.

PURPOSE: We assessed the long-term risk of breast cancer (BC) after treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). We focused on the volume of breast tissue exposed to radiation and the influence of gonadotoxic chemotherapy (CT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a cohort study among 1,122 female 5-year survivors treated for HL before the age of 51 years between 1965 and 1995. We compared the incidence of BC with that in the general population. To assess the risk according to radiation volume and hormone factors, we performed multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 17.8 years, 120 women developed BC (standardized incidence ratio [SIR], 5.6; 95% CI, 4.6 to 6.8), absolute excess risk 57 per 10,000 patients per year. The overall cumulative incidence 30 years after treatment was 19% (95% CI, 16% to 23%); for those treated before age 21 years, it was 26% (95% CI, 19% to 33%). The relative risk remained high after prolonged follow-up (> 30 years after treatment: SIR, 9.5; 95% CI, 4.9 to 16.6). Mantle field irradiation (involving the axillary, mediastinal, and neck nodes) was associated with a 2.7-fold increased risk (95% CI, 1.1 to 6.9) compared with similarly dosed (36 to 44 Gy) mediastinal irradiation alone. Women with >or= 20 years of intact ovarian function after radiotherapy at young ages (< 31 years) experienced significantly higher risks for BC than those with fewer than 10 years of intact ovarian function. CONCLUSION: Reduction of radiation volume appears to decrease the risk for BC after HL. In addition, shorter duration of intact ovarian function after irradiation is associated with a significant reduction of the risk for BC.

Cardiac metastases.

We report a case of esophageal cancer with symptomatic metastases to the heart; the patient was treated with short-course radiotherapy with good symptomatic relief. We reviewed the current literature regarding the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic tools, treatment modalities, and the prognosis of cardiac metastases. In this report we summarize the most recent autopsy studies (published between 1975 and 2007), in which we found an autopsy incidence of cardiac metastases of 2.3% among the general population, while the incidence among autopsies of cancer patients was 7.1%. Therefore, we share the opinion with others that there has been an increase in the incidence of cardiac metastases among cancer patients diagnosed after 1970, in comparison with the reported incidences in older series before 1970 (7.1% vs 3.8%; Kruskal-Wallis rank test; P = 0.039). Special attention was given to the role of radiotherapy in the management of cardiac metastases.

Roles of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the development of contralateral breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Few studies have examined whether modern radiotherapy and chemotherapy affect the risk of contralateral breast cancer (CBC), and results are inconclusive. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We assessed long-term risk of CBC in a predominantly young breast cancer (BC) population (n = 7,221), focusing on the effects of radiation dose, chemotherapy, and family history of BC. Risk of CBC was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: Radiotherapy-associated risk of CBC increased with decreasing age at first treatment (age < 35 years, hazard ratio [HR] = 1.78; 95% CI, 0.85 to 3.72; age > 45 years, HR = 1.09; 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.45). Postmastectomy radiotherapy using direct electron fields led to a significantly lower radiation exposure to the contralateral breast than postlumpectomy radiotherapy using tangential fields. Women treated before age 45 years with postlumpectomy radiotherapy experienced 1.5-fold increased risk of CBC compared with those who had postmastectomy radiotherapy. The joint effects of postlumpectomy radiotherapy and strong family history for BC on risk of CBC were greater than expected when individual risks were summed (HR = 3.52; 95% CI, 2.07 to 6.02; P(departure from additivity) = .043). Treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil) was associated with a nonsignificantly decreased risk of CBC in the first 5 years of follow-up but did not reduce CBC risk in subsequent years. CONCLUSION: Young patients with BC irradiated with breast tangentials experience increased risk of CBC, especially in those with a positive family history of BC. This finding should be taken into account when advising breast radiation with tangential fields to young patients with BC. Adjuvant chemotherapy seemed to reduce the risk of CBC during the first 5 years after treatment only.