Less Skin Reaction With Breast IMRT

A multicenter randomized study has reported that breast intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) reduces incidence of acute radiation dermatitis.

In standard radiation therapy using wedges, up to one-third of women can develop significant acute skin toxicity. But breast IMRT delivers a more homogenous dose of radiation throughout the breast than standard radiation therapy.

Dr. Jean-Philippe Pignol and colleagues of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and colleagues assessed acute skin reactions, particularly desquamation, in 170 women who underwent breast IMRT and 161 women who had standard radiation therapy as part of a multicenter randomized trial. Their findings suggest a significant increase in occurrence of moist desquamation and pain and a reduction in quality of life for women who received standard therapy vs. those who received IMRT.

The authors concluded that "IMRT should be offered to patients receiving adjuvant breast radiation therapy instead of the standard wedge technique." The study appears in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.