Ten daily fractions for partial breast irradiation. Long-term results of a prospective phase II trial.

Partial breast irradiation (PBI) is an effective adjuvant treatment after breast conservative surgery for selected early-stage breast cancer patients. However, the best fractionation scheme is not well defined. Hereby, we report the 5-year clinical outcome and toxicity of a phase II prospective study of a novel regimen to deliver PBI, which consists in 40 Gy delivered in 10 daily fractions.

Seven fractions to deliver partial breast irradiation: the toxicity is Low.

Purpose: To assess toxicity and clinical outcome, in breast cancer patients treated with external beam partial breast irradiation (PBI) consisting of 35 Gy in 7 daily fractions (5 Gy/fraction).

Materials And Methods: Patients affected by early-stage breast cancer were enrolled in this phase II trial. Patients had to be 60 years old or over and treated with breast conservative surgery for early stage invasive carcinoma.

Radiotherapy-induced miR-223 prevents relapse of breast cancer by targeting the EGF pathway.

In breast cancer (BC) patients, local recurrences often arise in proximity of the surgical scar, suggesting that response to surgery may have a causative role. Radiotherapy (RT) after lumpectomy significantly reduces the risk of recurrence. We investigated the direct effects of surgery and of RT delivered intraoperatively (IORT), by collecting irradiated and non-irradiated breast tissues from BC patients, after tumor removal.

Hypofractionation of partial breast irradiation using radiobiological models.

Purpose: To reduce the fraction number in Partial Breast Irradiation (PBI) with initial prescription of 40 Gy in 10 fractions using radiobiological models with specific focus on risk of moderate/severe radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) and report clinical results.

Methods And Materials: 68 patients (patient group A) were treated with 40 Gy in 10 fractions delivered by field-in-field, forward-planned IMRT. Isotoxic regimens with decreasing number of fractions were calculated using Biological Effective Dose (BED) to the breast.

Patient-Centered Cancer Care Programs in Italy: Benchmarking Global Patient Education Initiatives.

In Italy, educational programs for cancer patients are currently provided by the national government, scientific societies, and patient advocate organizations. Several gaps limit their effectiveness, including the lack of coordinated efforts, poor involvement of patient feedback in the planning of programs, as well as a lack of resources on innovative cancer-related topics. This process is parallel to a strong shift in the attitude of patients towards health in general and taking charge of their own health conditions in particular.