Preoperative Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results of a Prospective, Phase 2 Trial.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of utilizing 3-dimensional conformal accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in the preoperative setting followed by standard breast-conserving therapy.

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective trial testing the feasibility of preoperative APBI followed by lumpectomy for patients with early-stage invasive ductal breast cancer. Eligible patients had T1-T2 (<3 cm), N0 tumors.

Effect of reduction mammoplasty on acute radiation side effects and use of lumpectomy cavity boosts.

Purpose: Reduction mammoplasty (RM) during breast-conserving surgery is popular among women with large-volume breasts because it reduces redundant breast folds and may decrease skin-related morbidity from radiation therapy. However, RM may obscure the lumpectomy cavity (LC) and pose challenges to administering an LC boost, potentially affecting local control. We investigated the impact of RM on acute side effects and use of LC boosts.

Characteristics associated with the initiation of radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery among African American and white women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in Maryland, 2000-2006.

Purpose: Socioeconomic status appears to be an important independent barrier to breast cancer care, irrespective of insurance inequalities. Receiving radiation therapy (RT) reduces local recurrence and mortality in patients receiving breast-conserving surgery (BCS). We investigated racial and socioeconomic determinants of RT initiation after BCS in Maryland.

Sentinel lymph node positivity of patients with ductal carcinoma in situ or microinvasive breast cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of sentinel lymph node (SLN) positivity in patients with a final diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or microinvasive breast cancer (MIC).

Methods: One hundred thirty patients underwent SLN mapping from 1998 to 2003 for DCIS or MIC.

Results: One hundred nine patients with DCIS and 21 with MIC underwent SLN mapping.

Can axillary dissection be avoided in patients with sentinel lymph node metastasis?

Background: Who should undergo a completion dissection following identification of a +sentinel lymph node (SLN) is controversial.

Methods: The records of 1,133 patients who underwent SLN mapping were reviewed. The association between patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics and the presence of +SLNs and +nonSLNs was analyzed using two-way tables of frequency counts and Pearson chi2 test.