ASTRO issues guide on accelerated breast radiotherapy

Patient selection criteria and best practices for the use of accelerated partial breast irradiation, outside of a clinical trial, are covered by the American Society of Radiation Oncology in a consensus statement. APBI has several benefits, including a decreased overall treatment time and a decrease in the radiation delivered to healthy tissue and adjacent organs, but its long-term safety and effectiveness, compared with whole-breast irradiation, are not yet known, according to the ASTRO Task Force. As results of randomized trials comparing APBI with WBI will not be available for many years, guidance for use of APBI is needed (Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 74:987-1001, 2009).

The consensus statement highlights information on:

• Which patients may be considered for APBI
• What constitutes proper informed consent for APBI
• Which diagnostic imaging tests are necessary
• How to integrate APBI with surgical and chemotherapy treatment
• How the various techniques for APBI compare with one another.