Contralateral breast dose after whole-breast irradiation: an analysis by treatment technique.

Purpose: To investigate the contralateral breast dose (CBD) across a continuum of breast-conservation therapy techniques.

Methods And Materials: An anthropomorphic phantom was CT-simulated, and six treatment plans were generated: open tangents, tangents with an external wedge on the lateral beam, tangents with lateral and medial external wedges, a simple segment plan (three segments per tangent), a complex segmental intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plan (five segments per tangent), and a beamlet IMRT plan (>100 segments). For all techniques, the breast on the phantom was irradiated to 5000 cGy.

Planning the breast tumor bed boost: changes in the excision cavity volume and surgical scar location after breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to determine the changes in breast and excision cavity volumes after whole-breast irradiation and the adequacy of using the surgical scar to guide boost planning.

Methods And Materials: A total of 30 women consecutively treated for 31 breast cancers were included in this study. Simulation CT scans were performed before and after whole-breast irradiation.