Impact of hypofractionated adjuvant radiotherapy on complication rate in breast cancer patients with implant-based immediate reconstruction

Abstract

Hypofractionated radiotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer patients has a signifiant advantage over conventional fractionation due to the shorter duration of treatment course while maintaining its antitumor effiacy. Usage of hypofractionated regimens may be restricted in patients with immediate breast reconstruction because of higher rate of complications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of complications in the reconstructed breast after hypofractionated radiotherapy. The study involved 100 patients with breast cancer after immediate implant-based breast reconstruction who underwent an adjuvant course of external beam radiation therapy with a single dose of 2.67 Gy to a total dose of 40.05 Gy. In our study the incidence of capsular contracture is 8 %, infectious complications – 2.3 %, protrusion – 4.6 %. The total incidence of complications is 15 %, which does not exceed the incidence in conventional fractionation.