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Concepts and techniques of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for breast cancer

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Abstract

The standard treatment for early breast cancer comprises wide local excision, sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary lymph node dissection, adjuvant medical treatment and radiotherapy to the whole breast. Many studies suggest that local control plays a crucial role in overall survival. The local recurrence rate is estimated to be 1% per year and varies between 4 and 7% after 5 years and up to 10 to 20% in the long-term follow up. On the basis of low local recurrence rates the concept of whole breast irradiation comes up for discussion, and partial breast irradiation (PBI) is increasingly under consideration. Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) is referred to as the delivery of a single high dose of irradiation directly to the tumor bed (confined target) during surgery. PBI (limited field radiation therapy, accelerated partial breast irradiation APBI) is the irradiation exclusively confined to a breast volume, the tumor surrounding tissue (tumor bed) either during surgery or after surgery without whole breast irradiation. Various methods and techniques for IORT or PBI are under investigation. The advantage of a very short radiation time or the integration of the complete radiation treatment into the surgical procedure convinces at a first glance. The promising short-term results of those studies must not fail to mention that local recurrence rates could probably increase and furthermore give rise to distant metastases and a reduction in overall survival. The combination of IORT in boost modality and whole breast irradiation has the ability to reduce local recurrence rates. The EBCTCG overview approves that differences in local treatment that substantially affect local recurrence rates would avoid about one breast cancer death over the next 15 years for every four local recurrences avoided, and should reduce 15-year overall mortality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Breast Center Salzburg, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Private Medical School Salzburg, Muellner Hauptstrasse 48, 5020, Salzburg, Austria

    Roland Reitsamer, Christian Menzel & Silvia Glueck

  2. Department of Radiotherapy and Radiooncology, University Hospital Salzburg, Paracelsus Private Medical School Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Felix Sedlmayer, Michael Kopp, Gerhard Kametriser, Olaf Nairz, Heinz Deutschmann & Florian Merz

  3. Department of Gynecology, General Hospital Leoben, Leoben, Austria

    Florentia Peintinger

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  1. Roland Reitsamer
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  2. Felix Sedlmayer
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  3. Michael Kopp
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  4. Gerhard Kametriser
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  5. Christian Menzel
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  8. Heinz Deutschmann
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  9. Florian Merz
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  10. Florentia Peintinger
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Correspondence to Roland Reitsamer.

Additional information

This article is based on an invited lecture delivered at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Breast Cancer Society, held in Yokohama June 29-30, 2007.

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Reitsamer, R., Sedlmayer, F., Kopp, M. et al. Concepts and techniques of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for breast cancer. Breast Cancer 15, 40–46 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-007-0001-4

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