TROG 14.04: Multicentre Study of Feasibility and Impact on Anxiety of DIBH in Breast Cancer Patients.

Aims: The aim of TROG 14.04 was to assess the feasibility of deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) and its impact on radiation dose to the heart in patients with left-sided breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Secondary end points pertained to patient anxiety and cost of delivering a DIBH programme.

Can adjuvant pelvic radiation therapy after local excision or polypectomy for T1 and T2 rectal cancer offer an alternative option to radical surgery?

Purpose: To determine outcomes after adjuvant pelvic local radiation therapy (RT) +/- concurrent chemotherapy for T1 and T2 rectal carcinomas treated with local excision or polypectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively identified adult patients with histologically proven T1 and T2 rectal adenocarcinoma, diagnosed incidentally at time of local excision or polypectomy between 01 January 2007 and 31 December 2019, and appropriately staged to confirm N0 M0 status. Patients were excluded if they had recurrent cancer or had received total mesorectal excision (TME): anterior resection (AR) or abdominoperineal resection (APR).

Patient-Specific Heart Constraint: A Tool for Optimization and Evaluation of Mean Heart Dose in Breast Cancer Patients.

Purpose: Our institution introduced a patient-specific heart constraint (PSHC) and a mean heart dose (MHD) constraint of 4 Gy for all patients receiving breast radiation therapy (RT) with a simultaneous boost (SIB). This was introduced as a method to calculate the predicted MHD before optimizing IMRT fields. We sought to determine whether the introduction of a PSHC reduced MHD, while maintaining optimally dosed treatment plans.

Left-sided breast cancer loco-regional radiotherapy with deep inspiration breath-hold: Does volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy reduce heart dose further compared with tangential intensity-modulated radiotherapy?

Introduction: Left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy has been associated with an increase in cardiac mortality. This study investigated the potential heart-sparing effect of volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT). We compared VMAT to tangential intensity-modulated radiotherapy (t-IMRT) in the loco-regional treatment of left-sided breast cancer, including internal mammary nodal irradiation, based on deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) and free-breathing (FB).