The Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy vs . the 3D-Conformal Radiotherapy Regarding Acute Radiation Skin Toxicity and TreatmentRelated Lymphopenia in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Adjuvant radiotherapy is an integral part of breast cancer treatment, and there was a great evolution of radiotherapy techniques over the past few years. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) was developed in the 1990s as a modern technique aiming to spare normal tissues from toxic effects of radiotherapy. This study aimed at comparing the IMRT technique to the 3D-coformal radiotherapy technique (3D-CRT) in early breast cancer patients regarding the occurrence of acute skin toxicities and treatment-related lymphopenia (TRL). It is a prospective study conducted on 100 eligible patients who were divided equally between two groups; the first, are patients received adjuvant radiotherapy using IMRT technique and the second group were those who received 3D-CRT. Results showed that sever acute skin toxicity or moist desquamation in IMRT group was 6% vs. 18% in 3DCRT group (p<0.05). And, the sever TRL with IMRT technique was 9% compared 21% among those of the 3D-CRT group (p<0.05). The IMRT technique resulted in statistically significant lower incidence of sever acute skin toxicities as well as less sever TRL when compared with 3D-CRT technique.