The use of adjuvant high-dose-rate breast brachytherapy in patients with collagen vascular disease: a collaborative experience.

Purpose: To analyze toxicity and cosmesis in patients with collagen vascular disease (CVD) treated with accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) via high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: This is a pooled analysis of patients with early stage and in situ breast cancer with CVD treated with adjuvant multicatheter or balloon brachytherapy. Physicians at multiple institutions were asked to review their experience and report data regarding toxicity and cosmesis in patients with CVD.