Boosting the tumor bed from deep-seated tumors in early-stage breast cancer: a planning study between electron, photon, and proton beams.

Purpose: To assess the potential dosimetric advantages and drawbacks of photon beams (modulated or not), electron beams (EB), and protons as a boost for the tumor bed in deep-seated early-stage breast cancer.

Material And Methods: Planning CTs of 14 women with deep-seated tumors (i.e., > or =4 cm depth) were selected. The clinical target volume (CTV) was defined as the area of architectural distortion surrounded by surgical clips. The planning treatment volume (PTV) was the CTV plus 1cm margin. A dose of 16 Gy in 2 Gy fractions was prescribed. Organs at risk (OARs) were heart, lungs, breasts, and a 5-mm thick skin segment on the breast surface. Dose-volume metrics were defined to quantify the quality of concurrent treatment plans assessing target coverage and sparing of OAR. The following treatment techniques were assessed: photon beams with either static 3D-conformal, dynamic arc (DCA), static gantry intensity-modulated beams (IMRT), or RapidArc (RA); a single conformal EB; and intensity-modulated proton beams (IMPT). The goal for this planning effort was to cover 100% of the CTV with 95% of the prescribed dose and to minimize the volume inside the CTV receiving >107% of the dose.

Results: All techniques but DCA and EB achieved the planning objective for the CTV with an inhomogeneity ranging from 2% to 11%. RA showed the best conformity, EB the worst. Contra-lateral breast and lung were spared by all techniques with mean doses <0.5 Gy (zero for protons). The ipsi-lateral lung received a mean dose <10% of that prescribed with photon beams and <2% with IMPT, increasing to 17% with EB. The heart, in left-sided breast tumors, received also the highest dose with EB. The skin was best protected with RA with a mean dose of 5.4 Gy and V(15Gy)=2.4%.

Conclusions: Boosting the tumor bed in early-stage breast cancer with optimized photon or proton beams may be preferred to EB especially for deep-seated targets. The marked OAR (i.e., ipsi-lateral breast, lung, heart, and skin surface) dose-sparing effect may allow for a potential long-term toxicity risk reduction and better cosmesis. DCA or RA may also be considered alternative treatment options for patients eligible for accelerated partial breast irradiation trials.