Is radiation indicated in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ and close or positive mastectomy margins?

Purpose: Resection margin status is one of the most significant factors for local recurrence in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) treated with breast-conserving surgery with or without radiation. However, its impact on chest wall recurrence in patients treated with mastectomy is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine chest wall recurrence rates in women with DCIS and close (<5 mm) or positive mastectomy margins in order to evaluate the potential role of radiation therapy.

American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) Emerging Technology Committee report on electronic brachytherapy.

The development of novel technologies for the safe and effective delivery of radiation is critical to advancing the field of radiation oncology. The Emerging Technology Committee of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology appointed a Task Group within its Evaluation Subcommittee to evaluate new electronic brachytherapy methods that are being developed for, or are already in, clinical use. The Task Group evaluated two devices, the Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System by Xoft, Inc.

Comparison between hybrid direct aperture optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy and forward planning intensity-modulated radiotherapy for whole breast irradiation.

Purpose: To investigate the planning efficiency and dosimetric characteristics of hybrid direct aperture optimized (hDAO) intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) compared with forward planning (FP)-IMRT for whole breast irradiation with two tangential beams.

Methods And Materials: A total of 15 patients with left-sided breast cancer, categorized with three different breast volumes, were selected for this study. All patients were treated with FP plans to 50 Gy in 25 fractions.

Advances in radiation therapy: conventional to 3D, to IMRT, to 4D, and beyond.

Modern advances in computers have fueled parallel advances in imaging technologies. The improvements in imaging have in turn allowed a higher level of complexity to be incorporated into radiotherapy treatment planning systems. As a result of these changes, the delivery of radiotherapy evolved from therapy designed based primarily on plain (two dimensional) x-ray images and hand calculations to three-dimensional x-ray based images incorporating increasingly complex computer algorithms.