Purpose/Objectives
Moderate Deep Inspiration Breath-hold (mDIBH), utilizing an Active breathing Control (ABC) device has been used in our clinic since 2002 to reduce cardiac dose for patients receiving left-sided breast irradiation. We report our routine use of the mDIBH technique in clinically localized breast cancer, treated to the intact breast, reconstructed breast, or chest wall.
Materials/Methods
Ninety-nine patients with left sided breast cancer were evaluated for ABC treatment, of which, 87 patients were treated with mDIBH. Plans for both the free-breathing (FB) and mDIBH CT scans were evaluated. Dose volume histograms (DVHs) were analyzed for the heart and ipsilateral lung, comparing results for mDIBH vs FB plans.
Results
Eighty-seven patients are included for analysis. Of those, 66% received adjuvant chemotherapy with cardiotoxic agents. The mean dose to the whole breast was 47.6 Gy. There was a statistically significant decrease in all DVH parameters evaluated, favoring the delivery of mDIBH over FB plans. mDIBH plans significantly reduced cardiac mean dose (4.23 Gy vs. 2.54 Gy; p<0.001), a relative reduction of 40%. As well, there were significant reductions in all other heart parameters evaluated (i.e volume of heart treated, V30, V25, V20, V15, V10, and V5). mDIBH also significantly reduced lung dose, including a reduction of the left lung mean dose (9.08 Gy vs. 7.86 Gy; p<0.001), a relative reduction of 13%, as well as significant reduction of all lung DVH parameters evaluated.
Conclusions
To date, this series represents the largest experience utilizing mDIBH to reduce cardiac irradiation during left-sided breast cancer treatment. Statistically significant reductions in all heart and lung DVH parameters were achieved with mDIBH over FB plans. mDIBH, for the treatment of left sided breast cancer, is a proven technique for reducing cardiac dose that may lead to reduced cardiotoxicity and can be routinely integrated into the clinic.
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