An Overview of Dosimetric Aspects of Radiotherapy Techniques in Breast- Conserving Surgery Cancer Patients

An Overview of Dosimetric Aspects of Radiotherapy Techniques in Breast- Conserving Surgery Cancer Patients

Radiation treatments for the management of cancer have become highly technology driven and planning and executions are steered by computer algorithms and commercial software. Tangential radiation fields in the chest wall encounter sloped entry of pathways by radiation pencil beams; encounter missing tissues in the breast contour both in the lateral and longitudinal directions. The volume of lungs traversed in the partial radiation beam has different transmission with respect to ribs and soft tissues around the treated volumes. There are scattered radiations reaching the contralateral breast. The treatment plans for left side breast radiotherapy impart higher doses to the heart muscles (late reacting tissue), which have associated risks as treatment related morbidity. The efficacy of different radiotherapy treatment plans found in our earlier communications were reviewed.