The impact of chemotherapy on toxicity and cosmetic outcome in patients receiving whole breast irradiation: an analysis within a state-wide quality consortium
Recommended Citation
Dilworth JT, Griffith KA, Pierce LJ, Jagsi R, Quinn TJ, Walker EM, Radawski JD, Dominello MM, Gustafson GS, Moran JM, Hayman JA, and Vicini FA. The impact of chemotherapy on toxicity and cosmetic outcome in patients receiving whole breast irradiation: an analysis within a state-wide quality consortium. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2022.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-11-2022
Publication Title
International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics
Abstract
PURPOSE: We investigated whether the use of chemotherapy prior to whole breast irradiation (WBI) using either conventional fractionation (CWBI) or hypofractionation (HWBI) is associated with increased toxicity or worse cosmetic outcome compared to WBI alone.
METHODS AND MATERIALS: We identified 6,754 patients who received WBI alone (without a third field covering the superior axillary and supraclavicular nodal regions) with data prospectively collected in a state-wide consortium. We reported rates of four toxicity outcomes: physician-reported acute moist desquamation, patient-reported acute moderate/severe breast pain, a composite acute toxicity measure (including moist desquamation and either patient-reported or physician-reported moderate/significant breast pain), and physician-reported impaired cosmetic outcome at one year following WBI. Successive multivariable models were constructed to estimate the impact of chemotherapy on these outcomes.
RESULTS: Rates of moist desquamation, patient-reported pain, composite acute toxicity, and impaired cosmetic outcome were 23%, 34%, 42%, and 10% for 2,859 patients receiving CWBI and 13%, 28%, 31%, and 11% for 3,895 patients receiving HWBI. Receipt of chemotherapy prior to CWBI was not associated with higher rates of patient-reported pain, composite acute toxicity, or impaired cosmetic outcome compared to CWBI without chemotherapy but was associated with more moist desquamation (OR=1.32 [1.07-1.63], p=0.01). Receipt of chemotherapy prior to HWBI was not associated with higher rates of any of the four toxicity outcomes compared to HWBI alone.
CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, use of chemotherapy prior to WBI was generally well tolerated. CWBI with chemotherapy, but not to HWBI with chemotherapy, was associated with higher rates of moist desquamation. Rates of acute breast pain and impaired cosmetic outcome at one year were comparable in patients receiving chemotherapy prior to either CWBI or HWBI. These data support the use of HWBI following chemotherapy.
PubMed ID
35157997
ePublication
ePub ahead of print
