Radiation therapy of breast cancer in the Nahe Breast Center: first results of an analysis in the context of health services research

Abstract

Background The first evaluation of radiotherapy results in patients with breast cancer treated as part of a multimodal oncologic therapy in the Nahe Breast Center is presented. Analysis of the results was performed using an in-practice registry. Patients and methods From September 2016 to December 2017, 138 patients (median age 62.5 years; range 36–94 years) with breast cancer (right side, n = 67; left side, n = 71) received adjuvant radiation therapy. Of these, 103 patients received gyneco-oncologic care at the Nahe Breast Center, and 35 were referred from outside breast centers. The distribution into stages was as follows: stage I, n = 48; stage II, n = 68; stage III, n = 19; stage IV, n = 3. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given to 19 and adjuvant chemotherapy to 50 patients. Endocrine treatment was given to 120 patients. Both 3D conformal (n = 103) and intensity-modulated (n = 35) radiotherapy were performed with a modern linear accelerator. Results With a median follow-up of 60 months (1–67), local recurrence occurred in 4/138 (2.9%) and distant metastasis in 8/138 (5.8%) patients; 7/138 (5.1%) patients died of their tumors during the follow-up period. The actuarial 5‑year local recurrence-free survival of all patients was 97.1%, and the actuarial 5‑year overall survival of all patients was 94.9%. We observed no grade 3 or 4 radiogenic side effects. Conclusion The results of radiotherapy for breast carcinoma at the Nahe Breast Center are comparable to published national and international results. In particular, the local recurrence rates in our study, determined absolutely and actuarially, are excellent, and demonstrate the usefulness of radiotherapy.