Effect of HFRT and CFRT on peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with breast cancer / 中国辐射卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of different fractionated radiotherapy of hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFRT) and conventional fractionated radiotherapy (CFRT) on peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with breast cancer. Methods This retrospective analysis enrolled 40 patients with early breast cancer who underwent radiotherapy post breast conserving surgery in Xuzhou Central Hospital from November 2019 to August 2021. The patients were randomly divided into the observation group (HFRT, n = 20) and the control group (CFRT, n = 20). Changes in peripheral blood lymphocyte count (PLC) before and during radiotherapy were compared between the two groups. Results The baseline PLC was comparable between the observation group and the control group (1.53 ± 0.54 vs 1.64 ± 0.56, P > 0.05). In both groups, the PLC declined steadily during radiotherapy, and the incidence of lymphopenia in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (32.5% vs 50.0%, P > 0.05); the PLC nadir was higher in the observation group than in the control group (0.91 ± 0.28 vs 0.55 ± 0.22, P < 0.001). The ratio of the PLC nadir during treatment to baseline was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group (0.64 ± 0.24 vs 0.38 ± 0.21, P < 0.05). Conclusion Patients with breast cancer receiving HFRT show a lower risk of radiation-induced lymphopenia versus those receiving CFRT.