A primary experience of conventional fractionated three-dimensional conformal partial breast irradiation for early-stage breast cancer.

Recently, a number of clinical trials assessing partial breast irradiation (PBI), in particular accelerated partial breast irradiation, have been conducted in patients with early-stage breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in Europe and the US. By contrast, PBI is rarely performed in Eastern countries. In general, there are many physiological differences between Eastern and Western populations, and whether PBI is suitable for Eastern populations remains uncertain. Moreover, PBI is still in the stage of clinical research, and numerous questions have yet to be resolved. Thus, we designed a PBI trial to explore its feasibility and effectiveness for Eastern patients. According to the study criteria, 12 patients were enrolled between June 2003 and March 2007. Using three-dimensional conformal partial breast irradiation, they received a conventional fraction of 2 Gy/fraction/day, 5 fractions/week, DT60 Gy. According to follow-up data collected in August 2010, the rates of local recurrence and distant metastasis were 0%. The most common adverse reactions included grade 2 radioactive erythema in 2 (17%) cases and pigment deposition in 10 (83%). The results revealed that the patients exhibited good local tumor control, with minor adverse reactions and satisfactory cosmetic results. More samples and long-term observations are required to further assess the validity and feasibility of PBI.