Evaluation of tattoo reliability in breast cancer re-irradiation

Background

Tattoos help guide field placement in breast re-irradiation. This study evaluates the stability of medial tattoos in patients with prior breast radiotherapy (RT) to determine their reliability as surface markers.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively identified patients who had breast/chest wall re-irradiation between January 2022 and December 2023 (RT₂) and prior breast RT (RT₁) at our institution. Planning CTs for both RT courses were registered using rigid image registration. The medial tattoo, sternum, and internal perforating branches of the internal thoracic vessels were contoured on both CT₁ and CT₂, and POIs were placed at the respective centers to assess shifts and 3D distances reported as target registration errors (TRE).

Results

Eighteen patients were included, average sternum 3D TRE was 0.8 mm(SD0.8), within CT voxel thickness. The average medial tattoo 3D TRE was 9.2 mm(SD5.4). Significantly greater 3D TRE was observed in patients whose arm positions varied between scans (Same: 4.7 mm vs Different: 10.9 mm, p = 0.002). The largest 3D TRE was 22.1 mm, observed in a patient who had a mastectomy before RT₂. The average vessels 3D TRE was 4.1 mm (SD2.3) and impacted by arm position (Different = 4.4 mm vs Same = 2.9 mm, p = 0.009).

Conclusion

Relying solely on previous medial tattoos as indicators of the previous RT field border can be inaccurate due to arm positioning and surgical procedure changes that impact surface anatomy over time. Reproducing the patient’s original setup and arm positioning is essential to reducing registration errors in breast re-irradiation. If varying arm positions are unavoidable, internal thoracic perforator vessels may provide more robust registration.