Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation In The Prone Position With Helical Tomotherapy

Radiation therapy is a major tool in the management of this family of cancers. This issue of "Radiation Medicine Rounds" includes reviews of all major recent advances in treatment of breast cancer.

This text is a concise handbook designed to assist the clinician in the implementation of Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI). It includes a review of the principles that underlie APBI, a practical and detailed description of each technique for APBI, a review of current clinical results of APBI, and a review of the incidence and management of treatment related complications. The book encompasses a number of different techniques and approaches that include brachytherapy, intraoperative, and external beam techniques. There is currently no single source that describes these techniques and their clinical implementation.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among the female population. With advances in systemic therapies and modern radiotherapy techniques, breast cancer patients can have a long life-expectancy. However, it is crucial that radiation therapy is carried out with minimum complications and with the utmost efficiency. Principles and Practice of Modern Radiotherapy Techniques in Breast Cancer provides practical and current theoretical knowledge to the planning and implementation of breast cancer radiation therapy. All aspects of breast cancer are covered, including epidemiology, molecular and biological basis and integrating systemic therapies during all steps of treatment. The illustrated section of this book identifies anatomical structures in daily practice by presenting target and critical structures in actual treatment positions. These images show and mark the anatomical points of the patient lying in the position that breast radiation therapy would be performed. This text serves as a valuable resource for clinicians, residents and fellows practicing and learning breast cancer radiotherapy.

This comprehensive handbook on the implementation of short course radiotherapy for the treatment of breast cancer is intended as an up-to-date resource for the clinician. The book opens with a series of chapters on underlying principles and diverse relevant topics, including pathologic anatomy of early-stage breast cancer, radiobiology of accelerated breast irradiation, quality assurance and radiation safety, surgical considerations in partial breast irradiation, and impact of oncoplastic surgery on adjuvant radiotherapy. Individual sections are then devoted to hypofractionated whole breast radiotherapy, accelerated partial breast irradiation, and intraoperative radiotherapy. Each section includes details of patient selection, physics, techniques, data, and toxicity. The reader is provided with clear guidance on the appropriate use of accelerated forms of adjuvant radiotherapy for treatment of early-stage breast cancer and on various emerging treatment approaches.

The volume raises attention to the need of a completely new approach to breast cancer based on the knowledge collected on early breast cancer in the past two decades. The chapters are contributed by experts of all the fields participating in the clinical research and care of breast cancer. The practical importance of such a book is underlined by the increasing number of breast cancer cases, and also the increasing proportion of early stage-cases. The ultimate goal of the book is to point to the heterogeneous nature of the disease which is more striking and has more importance in care at the very early stages than at the more advanced stages. The book recommends the utilization of all the information provided by multimodality imaging and special pathological methods, a new classification system and therapeutic guidelines since early breast cancers should not be treated based on experience obtained with palpable tumors. No similar book has been yet released to the market. The book is written for all the members of the team participating in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer (radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, clinical and radiation oncologists), but may be useful for medical students and residents too. The chapters are illustrated with didactic pictures, and special emphasis is given to provide a peep into the practice of the special procedures for the careful examination and individualized therapy of each case.

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is being rapidly introduced into the clinical management of early breast cancer. APBI, in fact, encompasses a number of different techniques and approaches that include brachytherapy, intraoperative, and external beam techniques. There is currently no single source that describes these techniques and their clinical implementation. This text is a concise handbook designed to assist the clinician in the implementation of APBI. This includes a review of the principles that underlie APBI, a practical and detailed description of each technique for APBI, a review of current clinical results of APBI, and a review of the incidence and management of treatment related complications.

This book is a comprehensive guide to breast toxicity. Adjuvant radiation remains standard for a majority of women who undergo breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer, and indications for post-mastectomy and regional lymph node irradiation have also broadened with recent publications. At the same time, locoregional recurrence has declined and survival has improved in recent decades. In the current era of excellent breast cancer outcomes, then, considering the balance between toxicity and outcomes becomes paramount. Several recent editorials recommend considering toxicity against the potential benefit of adjuvant radiation in tailoring radiation decisions for individual patients. Thus, a clear understanding of the potential toxicities of adjuvant radiation for breast cancer is critical to optimizing outcomes in modern breast cancer management. Here, authors have collected recent data focused on toxicity of treatment that provide an opportunity for improving this optimization. Chapters cover both acute and late toxicity of radiation for breast cancer, including tailored risk assessment for each of these potential toxicities, considerations for including risk of toxicity in management decisions, and toxicity management strategies. This is an ideal guide for radiation oncologists, residents, and oncologists seeking to optimize care for their patients.