Toxicities and Locoregional Control After External Beam Chest Wall and/or Regional Lymph Node Re-irradiation for Recurrent Breast Cancer

Background/aim: To evaluate toxicities and clinical outcomes in breast cancer (BC) patients who underwent external beam chest wall (CW) and/or regional lymph node (LN) re-irradiation (re-RT) for locoregional recurrence (LRR).

Patients and methods: We performed a retrospective review of our institutional database to identify BC patients diagnosed with an isolated ipsilateral CW or nodal recurrence after prior whole breast/CW irradiation.

Results: Fifteen patients met the study criteria. Median time between completion of RT courses was 68.3 months (range=7.8-245.4 months). Median CW re-RT dose was 45 Gy (range=42.3-50.4 Gy). The majority of patients (80%) received proton beam re-RT. Grade 2-3 dermatitis occurred in 87% patients. Grade 2-3 pain was reported by 33% of patients. At a median follow-up of 14 months (range=1.0-90.5 months), the rate of isolated LRR was 13%.

Conclusion: Re-RT of the CW and/or regional LNs is feasible with acceptable rates of toxicity and low rates of isolated LRR.