Intraoperative radiation therapy as part of planned monotherapy for early-stage breast cancer

Adjuvant whole breast radiation therapy has developed into the standard of care for patients following a lumpectomy for early-stage breast cancer. However, there is recent interest in intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) to minimize toxicity while still improving local control beyond surgical resection and anti-estrogen therapy alone.

All patients were evaluated pre-operatively in a multidisciplinary clinic setting at a community hospital for suitability for breast conservation therapy. A total of 109 patients were reviewed receiving 110 IORT treatments. Patients were followed with clinical breast examinations and mammography as clinically indicated.

At a median follow-up of 29.9 months, 2/110 (1.8%) patients experienced a local failure. One patient (0.9%) experienced a regional failure. Local control, disease-free survival and overall survival at 3 years were 98.9% (95%CI 92.2-99.8), 97.2% (95%CI 88.9-99.3), and 96.0% (95%CI 84.9-99.0), respectively. Five-year local control, disease-free survival, and overall survival rates were 96.3% (95%CI 84.7-99.2), 94.6% (95%CI 83.2-98.3), and 92.5% (95%CI 80.4-97.3), respectively. Patient self-reported cosmetic outcome was available for 51 patients, with all patients reporting being either very pleased, pleased, or satisfied with their cosmetic outcome, and no patients reported being dissatisfied or worse.

The results of our series suggest the feasibility of utilizing IORT in a community-based cancer center with a high degree of local control, and patient satisfaction with regard to cosmesis. While the results of this series suggest that IORT may be a promising modality, longer follow-up is warranted to better understand exactly which clinicopathological features can predict long-term locoregional disease control.