Prevention of radiation pneumonitis in breast cancer irradiation through dose-volume constraint

Clinical relevance of pulmonary toxicity in adjuvant breast cancer irradiation

“…However, if locoregional RT is administered with template techniques and without 3-D planning aimed at reducing dose to lung, short-term pulmonary toxicity of grade 2 is detected in roughly 10% of patients and predominantly in cases where the ipsilateral V20 is ]/30% [13]. We are confirming this hypothesis by testing if dose volume constraints of the latter magnitude (ipsilateral V20 B/30%) will minimize clinically significant cases of pneumonitis and preliminary results support this strategy [24]. Interestingly, the mean lung DVH in the present study by Järvenpää and coworkers points to V20-values below this cut off level, which may explain the relatively low rate of symptomatic pneumonitis found.…”