(ChemotherapyAdvisor) – Accelerated hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy is a viable option for the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), according to a team of researchers of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY. This conclusion is based on an article entitled “Five Year Outcome of 145 Patients with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) After Accelerated Breast Radiotherapy,” which was published in the June issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics.
In this study, the investigators evaluated the efficacy of accelerated whole-breast radiotherapy in the treatment of DCIS. Patients who had been previously treated for DCIS with lumpectomy and negative margins, received treatment in 1 of 2 consecutive trials of hypofractionated whole-breast radiotherapy: whole breast 42 Gy (2.8 Gy in 15 fractions) and 40.5 Gy (2.7 Gy in 15 fractions) with an additional daily boost of 0.5 Gy to the surgical cavity.
At 5 years’ median follow-up, 6 patients (4.1%) experienced an ipsilateral breast recurrence in all cases of DCIS histology. In half of these patients, recurrence occurred at the original site of DCIS, and, in the remaining 3 cases, outside the original tumor bed. New contralateral breast cancers arose in 3 cases (1 DCIS and 2 invasive carcinomas). Cosmetic self-assessment at least 2 years after treatment is available in 125 patients: 91% reported good-to-excellent and 9% reported fair-to-poor outcomes.
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The investigators concluded that, based on these study results, there is preliminary evidence that accelerated hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy is a viable treatment option for DCIS.
