Doses delivered to small and large breasts and adjacent organs in left breast cancer patients utilizing 3D and IM radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is still the most facilitated modality for treatment of malignant tumors, including breast cancer, with or without chemotherapy and after surgery or when surgery is impossible. Aim: The present article concerns a number of parameters used in radiation therapy techniques, involving the minimum, maximum, mean dose, volume covered with 95% of dose, and global maximum dose delivered to planning target volume (PTV), and the organs at risk, including left lung, heart, thyroid gland, spinal cord, humerus, super clavicle lymph node, and the right breast using the constraints of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). Patients and Methods: Twenty patients with breast tumors, females only, were enrolled in the study. A LINAC with a 6 MV photon beam was used to deliver the prescribed dose. The whole breast irradiation was applied to each patient using two planning techniques: 3D conformal and intensity modulated radiotherapy, and the planning was constructed within 95%-107% of the prescribed dose to the planning target volume as recommended by the RTOG. Results: The results showed a significant difference (at the level of P < 0.05) between the two planning techniques based on the doses received by PTV and the OARs. The results were discussed. Conclusion: We concluded that inverse intensity modulation radiation therapy (IMRT) for breast cancer does not improve late toxicity or oncologic outcomes. So, inverse IMRT is not yet the norm, and health insurance usually does not pay for treatment unless its absolutely necessary, like to stop a heart attack