METHODOLOGY: A total of 21 breast cancer patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery and IORT, either as IORT alone or IORT boost plus external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), were recruited in this prospective study. EBT3 film was calibrated in water and used to measure skin dose during IORT at concentric circles of 5 mm and 40 mm away from the applicator. For patients who also had EBRT, the maximum skin dose was estimated using the radiotherapy treatment planning system. Mid-term skin toxicities were evaluated at 3 and 6 months post-IORT.
RESULTS: The average skin dose at 5 mm and 40 mm away from the applicator was 3.07 ± 0.82 Gy and 0.99 ± 0.28 Gy, respectively. Patients treated with IORT boost plus EBRT received an additional skin dose of 41.07 ± 1.57 Gy from the EBRT component. At 3 months post-IORT, 86% of patients showed no evidence of skin toxicity. However, the number of patients suffering from skin toxicity increased from 15% to 38% at 6 months post-IORT. We found no association between the IORT alone or with the IORT boost plus EBRT and skin toxicity. Older age was associated with increased risk of skin toxicities. A mathematical model was derived to predict skin dose.
CONCLUSION: EBT3 film is a suitable dosimeter for in vivo skin dosimetry in IORT, providing patient-specific skin doses. Both IORT alone and IORT boost techniques resulted in similar skin toxicity rates.
METHODS: All patients who underwent EEN for advanced rNPC between January 2003 and December 2015 inclusive were analyzed. All surgeries were performed in University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sabah. We reported the 5-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) and any related complications and significant prognostic factors.
RESULTS: Twelve patients with rNPC (2 rT3 and 10 rT4) were followed-up over a mean duration of 44.8 months (range, 40-440 weeks). The 5-year OS was 50.0% (mean 44.75 months), DFS was 25.0% (mean 35.25 months) and the DSS was 58.3% (mean 43.33 months). No severe operative complications were encountered and no independent prognostic factors for survival outcome were identified.
CONCLUSION: This is the first report in English that exclusively described the long-term 5-year survival data in patients with both rT3 and rT4 recurrent NPC after EEN. The data suggest that EEN is a feasible treatment to improve survival with minimal morbidities in patients with rT3 and rT4 recurrent NPC. However, more studies with larger patient size is recommended.