Locoregional PMRT is recommended for women with 4 or more positive axillary lymph nodes .
The role of PMRT in women with 1 to 3 positive axillary lymph nodes is unclear .
Locoregional PMRT is generally not recommended for women who have tumours that are less than 5 cm in diameter and who have negative axillary nodes .
OBJECTIVE To provide information and recommendations to assist women with breast cancer and their physicians in making decisions regarding the use of locoregional post-mastectomy radiotherapy ( PMRT ) .
OUTCOMES Locoregional control , disease-free survival , overall survival and treatment-related toxicities .
To reduce the risk of lymphedema , radiation of the entire axilla should not be used routinely after complete axillary dissection of level I and II lymph nodes .
The use of modern techniques in radiotherapy planning is recommended to minimize excessive normal tissue exposure , particularly to the cardiac and pulmonary structures .
Common short-term side effects of PMRT , including fatigue and skin erythema , are generally tolerable and not dose-limiting .
Severe long-term side effects , including lymphedema , cardiac and pulmonary toxicities , brachial plexopathy , rib fractures and secondary neoplasms , are relatively rare .
Tangential breast irradiation with or without internal mammary chain irradiation: results of a randomized trial.
UNLABELLED A prospect i ve r and omized study was made of 270 patients with unilateral stage I or II invasive breast cancer treated by segmental resection , axillary dissection and radiation at the University Hospital of Tampere , Finl and , between 1989 and 1991 . The aim of the study was to determine whether there is any advantage or disadvantage if the internal mammary chains ( IMC ) are included in the radiation target volume . The medial and lateral two-field technique was used and the target volumes were determined r and omly either to include the internal mammary chain ( IMC-RT ) or not ( no-IMC-RT ) . The prevalence of radiation pneumonitis was 16 % and there was no significant difference between the IMC- and no-IMC-groups ( 18 vs. 14 % ) . Skin reactions were equal in both groups . Lung fibrosis was more common in the IMC-RT group . IN CONCLUSION radiation of internal mammary chain after conservative surgery does not lead to an increase in clinical ly important skin or pulmonary complications . Whether it prevents recurrences or new primaries of the opposite breast is too early to say because of the short follow-up time
Locoregional PMRT is recommended for women with 4 or more positive axillary lymph nodes .
The role of PMRT in women with 1 to 3 positive axillary lymph nodes is unclear .
Locoregional PMRT is generally not recommended for women who have tumours that are less than 5 cm in diameter and who have negative axillary nodes .
OBJECTIVE To provide information and recommendations to assist women with breast cancer and their physicians in making decisions regarding the use of locoregional post-mastectomy radiotherapy ( PMRT ) .
OUTCOMES Locoregional control , disease-free survival , overall survival and treatment-related toxicities .
To reduce the risk of lymphedema , radiation of the entire axilla should not be used routinely after complete axillary dissection of level I and II lymph nodes .
The use of modern techniques in radiotherapy planning is recommended to minimize excessive normal tissue exposure , particularly to the cardiac and pulmonary structures .
Common short-term side effects of PMRT , including fatigue and skin erythema , are generally tolerable and not dose-limiting .
Severe long-term side effects , including lymphedema , cardiac and pulmonary toxicities , brachial plexopathy , rib fractures and secondary neoplasms , are relatively rare .