Tumor bed radiotherapy in women following breast conserving surgery for breast cancer-safety margin with/without image guidance.

Image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) enables the achievement of higher precision in radiation delivery, a reduction in safety margins and a reduced risk of toxicity in healthy tissues. The present study investigated the magnitude of safety margins for the radiation boost setup on skin marks or metal clips implanted into the tumor bed during breast cancer surgery. One hundred eighty-four patients after breast conserving surgery with implanted metal clips into tumor bed were analyzed. The present study investigated the difference in safety margin required for the treatment setup on skin marks and metal clips. The skin marks were created using a positioning laser system in the treatment room. Metal clips implanted in the tumor bed were registered using IGRT with kilovoltage X-rays in orthogonal projection. Treatment setup was performed during free breathing. The safety margin corresponding to the planning target volume (PTV) was calculated from the recorded data. Calculated safety margins for the treatment setup on skin marks were 9.4, 11.1 and 11.1 mm in the anteroposterior, craniocaudal, and laterolateral directions, respectively. Corresponding safety margins with the use of IGRT and metal clips registration were 4.7, 5.1 and 5.9 mm, respectively. The safe PTV margin was 12 mm using setup on skin marks without IGRT, whereas a 6-mm margin was sufficient with the use of metal clip-based IGRT with daily online correction. IGRT has been adopted as the standard treatment method within the Oncology Centre of Multiscan and Pardubice Hospital (Pardubice, Czech Republic).