The impact of continuous positive airway pressure on radiation dose to heart and lung during left-sided postmastectomy radiotherapy when deep inspiration breath hold technique is not applicable: a case report

Deep inspiration breathing hold (DIBH) compared to free-breathing (FB) during radiotherapy (RT) has significantly decreased radiation dose to heart and has been one of the techniques adopted for patients with breast cancer. However, patients who are unable to make suitable deep inspiration breath may not be eligible for DIBH, yet still need to spare the heart and lung during breast cancer RT (left-sided RT in particular). Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a positive airway pressure ventilator, which keeps the airways continuously open and subsequently inflates the thorax resembling thoracic changes from DIBH. In this report, authors applied CPAP instead of FB during left-sided breast cancer RT including internal mammary node in a patient who was unable to tolerate DIBH, and substantially decreased radiation dose the heart and lung with CPAP compared to FB.

Effects of post-mastectomy radiation therapy on T1-2 stage and one to three positive lymph node breast cancer patients with differ-ent risk factors / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To retrospectively evaluate the prognostic risk factors of T1-2 stage breast cancer patients with one to three positive node(s) and their effects on the benefits of post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT). Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 457 breast cancer patients with T1-2 stage and one to three positive axillary lymph nodes treated in our hospital between 2000 and 2002. The independent prognostic factors of the patients were calculated by the Cox proportional hazards model. The patients were fur-ther classified into high-risk and low-risk subgroups according to the risk factors to explore the benefit of PMRT on the prognosis of dif-ferent subgroups using survival analysis. Results:PMRT was not an independent beneficial factor of overall survival (OS) (HR=0.949;CI:0.435-2.074;P=0.896) or loco-regional recurrent free survival (LRRFS) (HR=0.611;CI:0.231-1.614;P=0.320) in all patients. Ex-tracapsular extension (ECE) and pathological grades were independent prognostic risk factors, and the benefits of PMRT were signifi-cantly different on the prognosis of high-risk subgroup patients (group ECE+OS:P=0.020, LRRFS:P=0.014;group GradeⅢOS:P=0.002, LRRFS:P<0.001). Meanwhile, PMRT failed to prolong the OS and LRRFS of low-risk subgroup patients (group ECE+OS:P=0.353, LRRFS:P=0.796;group GradeⅠtoⅡOS:P=0.267, LRRFS:P=0.589). Conclusion:ECE and gradeⅢwere the independent risk factors of death and loco-regional recurrence in the T1-2 breast cancer patients with one to three positive lymph node(s). PMRT was an effective adjuvant therapy to improve the prognosis of patients with high-risk factors. However, the benefit of PMRT had no sig-nificance in patients with ECE-or gradeⅠ-Ⅱ.

Prognostic value of post-mastectomy radiation therapy in node-positive breast cancer patients treated with breast conservation therapy / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To evaluate the prognostic value of post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) in patients with axillary lymph node-positive breast cancer treated with breast conservation surgery and to establish the candidates for PMRT based on different pN stages and lymph node ratios (LNR). Methods:A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of the patients was conducted. The pa-tients had positive lymph nodes (n=152) between 1998 and 2007 and underwent breast conservation surgery. A comparison of the dis-ease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates was conducted based on LNR and pN staging and with PMRT as a prognostic factor. Results:A total of 152 cases were studied, of which 114 were pN1, 23 were pN2, and 15 were pN3. Among these cases, 114 had an LNR ranging from 0.01 to 0.20, 26 had an LNR from 0.21 to 0.65, and 12 had an LNR>0.65. Univariate analysis showed that the number of dissected lymph nodes, LNR, pN stage, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and radiotherapy were the prognostic fac-tors for DFS and OS rates (P0.05). In the subgroup analysis, PMRT had significant effect on DFS and OS (P<0.05) in patients with pN1 and LNR<0.21. Conclusion:LNR is an independent prognostic factor in axillary lymph node-positive breast cancer patients treated with breast conservation surgery, and a candidate for PMRT should be established based on different LNR risks.