breast RT

Breast Cancer Surgery: Can I still keep my breast?

By Dr. Khudair Al-Rawaq

History of breast surgery

1894 – Radical mastectomy by William Halsted1967 – Modified Radical Mastectomy1981 – Breast conservation surgery (lumpectomy and removal of axillary lymph nodes)Studies have shown that there is no difference in the outcome in all these three types of surgery

Breast cancer management

1 Staging 2 Surgery 3 Radiation therapy Indications for radiation Types of radiotherapy Side effects of radiation therapy 4 Systemic therapy Chemotherapy Hormonal Receptor Status Targeted therapy

Immunotherapy Chemoimmunotherapy Thermochemotherapy Alternative treatments 5 Gene expression profiling 6 Treatment response assessment Blood test 7 Managing side effects Insomnia Hot flashes 8 Reoccurrence monitoring

Why is there no difference whatever type of surgery is done?

Even when a breast cancer is 1 cm, cancer cells can go into the blood and lymphatic vessels and be carried to any part of the body Hence surgery alone usually cannot cure the patient Systemic therapy such as chemotherapy or hormone therapy will also be required However surgery is important to get rid of all obvious gross cancer

Survival after BCS and Mastectomy

Trial
Endpoint
Overall Survival CS&RT Mastect
Disease-free Survival CS&RT Mastect
NCI Milan
18 yrs
65% 65%
N/A
Institut Gustav Roussy
15 yrs
73% 65%
N/A
NSABP B-06
12 yrs
63% 59%
50% 49%
NCI USA
10 yrs
77% 75%
72% 69%
EORTC
8 yrs
54% 61%
N/A
Danish Breast Cancer Group
6 yrs
79% 82%
70% 66%

Local recurrence rates after lumpectomy +RT, lumpectomy alone and mastectomy

Trial
Follow-up
Lumpectomy And RT
Lumpectomy alone
Mastectomy
NSABP-B06
8 yrs
10%
39%
8%
EORTC
8 yrs
15%
NA
9%
Jacobsen etal
10yrs
17%
NA
9%
European EORTC/DBCG
10 yrs
10%
NA
9%

Radiotherapy

After lumpectomy, radiotherapy is essential, otherwise the local recurrence rate is unacceptably high Without radiotherapy, the local recurrence can be as high as 40%

Radiation Oncology/Breast/RT technique

1 Anatomy: Regional LNs 2 Multifield breast technique 3 RT Prescription 4 Target Delineation 5 Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Seroma cavity delineation 6 Whole Breast RT IMRT Active Breath Hold 7 Axilla 8 SCV field

9 PAB field 10 IMN irradiation 11 Postmastectomy IMRT 12 Proton Therapy Clinical Dosimetry 13 Effect of surgery to radiotherapy interval (SRI) Boost dose may overcome Effect of margins 14 Irradiation after breast augmentation 15 Irradiation after breast reconstruction 16 RT Utilization

When can we try to save your breast?

Size is the most important criteria. The lump must be small enough to be excised with a good margin of normal breast tissueThe tumour must be a single lump with no disease elsewhere in the breast – mammogram before surgery is essential to rule out multifocal diseaseThe patient must agree to radiotherapy and have no other diseases which make radiotherapy impossible

When can we try to save your breast?

Counseling is very important Decision-making should be a shared decision ie the patient and the doctor together will decide what is best for the patient

Mastectomy

No physical handicap The degree of emotional handicap depends on the patient

Breast conservation surgery

Breast contour is preserved Requires radiotherapy Generally less depression and better body image

Breast conservation surgery

Occasionally may cause a lot of distortion if the lump is large or too close to the nipple In such cases, may require plastic surgery or a mastectomy is necessary

What if I cannot save my breast?

If the lump is too big to be safely removed with a margin of normal tissue, or there are multiple cancers in the breast, and mastectomy is required, immediate breast reconstruction is possible and has been shown to be safe

Immediate breast reconstruction

Takes longer operating time Own body tissues can be used eg abdomen Psychologically less depression

Is there a way of saving my breast even if I have a big tumour?

Primary chemotherapy may be able to shrink the tumour so that BCS can be done Not standard practice, but can be safely done if the patient wants BCS and is not willing to have a mastectomy Not advisable in Stage 3 locally advanced breast cancer

What is Stage 3 locally advanced breast cancer?

Cancer involving the skin or the whole breast Chemotherapy can be given first to shrink it Mastectomy after chemotherapy

Is breast conservation surgery commonly carried out?

In UMMC, 30% of breast surgery is breast conservation surgery while the rest are mastectomy In USA, figures of BCS are more than 70% Early detection is the most important factor in determining whether your breast can be saved


Follow-up after breast conservation surgery
Mammogram at 6 months after radiotherapy Mammogram yearly afterwards If local recurrence detected, mastectomy must be carried out

Conclusion

Breast conservation surgery gives the same outcome as mastectomy Selection of patients important Education and counseling of patients is important Awareness programmes should emphasize that with early detection, YOU CAN STILL KEEP YOUR BREAST

Interstitial Brachytherapy (iBT)

Most data in the literature are based on iBT !
in Phase III
BREAST CONSERVATION

BREAST CONSERVATION

In USA very frequent !
in Phase III
BREAST CONSERVATION



TECHNIQUE / RT APPLICATION
BREAST CONSERVATION

BREAST CONSERVATION

Planning-CT and 3D-Planning
BREAST CONSERVATION

BREAST CONSERVATION

BREAST CONSERVATION

Hurkmans et al., 2001

42 mm
HEART
BREAST CONSERVATION

„Open“ homogeneous beam (OB) Intensity modulatedbeam (IMB)

BREAST CONSERVATION
IMRT

BREAST CONSERVATION

IMRT

IMRT

IMRT
IMRT
BREAST CONSERVATION

R
Standard 2D3D IMRT5yrs – Differences in breast appearence (Photos)60%48% p=0.06 (QoL no difference) n=306
Yarnold et al., ECCO 13; 2005
BREAST CONSERVATION
IMRT

6MV + 12e

Protons
IMRT
IMRT
Lomax et al.
IJROBP 2003
BREAST CONSERVATION

Side effects of radiation therapy

muscle stiffness. mild swelling. tenderness in the area. Lymphedema. Pulmonary peumonitis. Cardiac toxicity.

The end