Accelerated partial breast irradiation using interstitial high dose rate ¹⁹²iridium brachytherapy: Early Australian experience and review of the literature

Abstract

Summary Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is an evolving new technique of adjuvant irradiation in selected women with early-stage breast cancer. We developed a pilot programme of APBI in 2000 and report end results in seven patients followed for a mean of 42.7 months (range 29-55 months). Good to excellent cosmesis and no loco-regional relapse or systemic metastases have occurred. The literature related to APBI is reviewed.

Preliminary result of accelerated partial breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery

“…None of the patients who presented wound complications received prophylactic antibiotics during ISBT, while no infection occurred until completion of ISBT in the six patients who were treated with the open implant technique and also with prophylactic antibiotics. Although no clinical data related to the importance of the use prophylactic antibiotics have been published, some reports have commented on the usage of prophylactic antibiotics in their study [9,19,[21][22][23]. Infection rates of 0-11% were reported by these studies, which seem to be similar to those reported elsewhere.…”

“…When V100 was larger than 100 cc (for example, Wazer et al; median: 176 cc, range: 63-560 cc), the infection rate was 4-5% [11,24]. When V100 was smaller than 100 cc (for example, Stevens et al; median: 92.4 cc, range: 45-166.4 cc), the results were not very different (0-5%) [22,23]. We believe that the larger volume irradiation (average V100: 191.5 cc; second period) may be a risk factor for wound complication because the smaller volume irradiation (median: 106.8 cc; range: 65.3-368 cc) used in the Nose study resulted in only one infectious complication (5%).…”

HDR-brachytherapy for accelerated partial breast irradiation: Long-term experience from a Japanese institution

“…As a part of our adaptions, we re-introduced the use of prophylactic antibiotics throughout the entire treatment. Although no clinical data showing the importance of the use of prophylactic antibiotics have been published, some reports have observed the usage of prophylactic antibiotics at that time [14][15][16][17][18]. Therefore, we changed our protocol.…”