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Notter M, Thomsen AR, Nitsche M, Hermann RM, Wolff HA, Habl G, Münch K, Grosu AL, Vaupel P. Combined wIRA-Hyperthermia and Hypofractionated Re-Irradiation in the Treatment of Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer: Evaluation of Therapeutic Outcome Based on a Novel Size Classification. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12030606. [PMID: 32155740 PMCID: PMC7139693 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12030606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Effective tumor control in patients suffering from unresectable locally recurrent breast cancer (LRBC) in pre-irradiated areas can be achieved by re-irradiation combined with superficial hyperthermia. Using this combined modality, total re-irradiation dose and toxicity can be significantly reduced compared to conventionally fractionated treatment schedules with total doses of 60–66 Gy. Applying contact-free, thermography-controlled water-filtered infrared-A superficial hyperthermia, immediately followed by hypofractionated re-irradiation, consisting of 4 Gy once per week up to a total dose of 20 Gy, resulted in high overall response rates even in large-sized tumors. Comparability of clinical data between different combined Hyperthermia (HT)/Radiotherapy (RT) treatment schedules is impeded by the highly individual characteristics of this disease. Tumor size, ranging from microscopic disease and small lesions to large-sized cancer en cuirasse, is described as one of the most important prognostic factors. However, in clinical studies and analyses of LRBC, tumor size has so far been reported in a very heterogeneous way. Therefore, we suggest a novel, simple and feasible size classification (rClasses 0–IV). Applying this classification for the evaluation of 201 patients with pre-irradiated LRBC allowed for a stratification into distinct prognostic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Notter
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Lindenhofspital Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (M.N.); (K.M.)
| | - Andreas R. Thomsen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (A.R.T.); (A.-L.G.)
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mirko Nitsche
- Center for Radiotherapy and Radiooncology Bremen and Westerstede, 28239 Bremen, Germany; (M.N.); (R.M.H.)
| | - Robert M. Hermann
- Center for Radiotherapy and Radiooncology Bremen and Westerstede, 28239 Bremen, Germany; (M.N.); (R.M.H.)
| | - Hendrik A. Wolff
- Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy, Radiology Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany; (H.A.W.); (G.H.)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Gregor Habl
- Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy, Radiology Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany; (H.A.W.); (G.H.)
- Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Karin Münch
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Lindenhofspital Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; (M.N.); (K.M.)
| | - Anca-L. Grosu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (A.R.T.); (A.-L.G.)
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Vaupel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany; (A.R.T.); (A.-L.G.)
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-171-124-0073
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