Indexes of Cardiac and LAD Irradiation in Conventional 2-Dimensional (SAD) and 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy Techniques: A Dosimetrical Comparison

Abstract

Radiation therapy in breast cancer patients has been shown to reduce local recurrence and improve survival rates. Nevertheless, recent concerns have been raised regarding an increase in cardiac mortality, especially in patients who had been treated with radiation for left-sided breast tumors. Hence, the aim of this study is to estimate doses of irradiation to the heart, LAD coronary artery, and lungs in 2D (SAD) and 3D conformal radio therapy techniques, and to compare the two.Out of 32, 18 to 75 years old females with a diagnosis of non-metastatic breast cancer, who referred from surgery department, went through irradiation in the conventional 2D (SAD) and then 3DCRT using multi-slice CT scans to contour vital organ. Nearly all of the dosimetrical indexes were higher in 3DCRT method.This shows that 2D technique lacks a decent scale to measure cardiac toxicity since its mid-plane CT slice did not give a reliable assessment of cardiac irradiation.