Abstract
Background: Adjuvant radiotherapy has increased disease-free and overall
survival rates in breast cancer. Conventionally fractionated radiotherapy delivers
50 Gy over 5 weeks which is the standard approach. A shorter duration
of hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) will be more convenient for patients
and treatment providers if found safe and equally effective. Material
and Methods: Fifty-four breast cancer patients who underwent breast conservative
surgery (BCS) were enrolled in this study. The patients received
4005 cGy/15 fractions. A boost to the tumor bed was administered in all patients.
In this study, radiotherapy induced toxicity was evaluated. Results: In
this study, the median age of our patients was 48 years with age ranged from
28 to 69 years. Acute skin toxicity was assessed, and it was noted that grade 2
skin toxicity was shown in only 6 patients (11.1%) at the end of radiotherapy
and disappeared after 6 weeks of treatment. Late skin toxicity (telangectasia,
hyperpigmentation, and subcutaneous fibrosis) was assessed and showed that
most patients had grade 0 toxicity with no grade 3 toxicity at all. Regarding
pulmonary toxicity, 5 patients (9.3%) developed acute pneumonitis and as
regards chronic lung toxicity, it was evident in only 3 patients, 2 patients
(3.7%) were grade 1 and 1 patient (1.9%) was grade 2. Cardiac toxicity was
evident in 2 patients (7.1%) of the left breast cancer patients. Regarding lymphoedema,
most patients that showed lymphoedema were grade 1. Conclusion:
The results confirm the safety and feasibility of adjuvant hypofractionated
whole breast radiotherapy in breast cancer patients in terms of acute
and late toxicity.