Tumor bed boost omission after negative re-excision in breast-conservation treatment.

Background: We evaluated the necessity of a tumor bed boost after whole-breast radiotherapy for early-stage breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery and negative re-excision.

Methods: Of patients treated at the Virginia Commonwealth and Tufts Universities with breast-conservation therapy for early-stage breast cancer between 1983 and 1999, 205 required re-excision of the tumor cavity to obtain clear margins and were found to be without residual disease. Adjuvant conventionally fractionated whole-breast radiotherapy was given to a total dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions.

Partial breast brachytherapy after lumpectomy: low-dose-rate and high-dose-rate experience.

Purpose: The use of partial breast brachytherapy (PBB) after lumpectomy for selected patients with early-stage breast cancer reduces the adjuvant radiotherapy treatment time to <1 week. Despite the advantages of accelerated treatment, maintaining an acceptable cosmetic outcome is important. In a cohort of patients who received low-dose-rate (LDR) or high-dose-rate (HDR) PBB after lumpectomy, the clinical characteristics and treatment parameters were analyzed to identify predictors for an unfavorable cosmetic outcome.