Multi-catheter interstitial brachytherapy for an advanced breast cancer patient with multiple complications: A case report

Abstract

Multi-catheter interstitial brachytherapy (MIB) is one kind of accelerated partial breast irradiation, which can effectively reduce irradiation of the skin, lung, and heart compared with whole-breast irradiation. The currently recognized indications of MIB concern patients who have undergone breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation, and experienced breast cancer recurrence. The present case supplies evidence that for patients with advanced breast cancer and multiple complications, interstitial brachytherapy is an effective treatment. Clinical practice pointsMulti-catheter interstitial brachytherapy (MIB) was initially introduced as a boost after breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation. It is an attractive therapy, as it can effectively reduce radiation of the skin, lung, and heart compared with whole-breast irradiation. According to this report, if neither the results of whole breast irradiation nor systemic chemotherapy is ideal, for patients with large local mass who cannot undergo surgery, MIB was an effective treatment. It indicates a useful therapy choice for patients with advanced breast cancer and multiple complications on clinical practice in the foreseeable future. Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is a type of radiotherapy applied only to local target breast tissue for patients with breast cancer (1) . The mortality rate of APBI for breast cancer patients is similar to that of whole breast irradiation, but the radiotherapy course is shorter (2) .The four types of APBI are multi-catheter interstitial brachytherapy (MIB), intracavitary brachytherapy, three-dimensional conformal external beam radiation therapy, and intra-operative radiotherapy. MIB was initially introduced as a boost after breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation (3) . It is an attractive therapy, as it can effectively reduce irradiation of the skin, lung, and heart compared with whole-breast irradiation. The currently recognized indications of MIB concern patients who have undergone breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation, and experienced breast cancer recurrence (3) . However, there are still a small number of patients with large local masses who cannot undergo surgery, and