Concurrent Boost with Adjuvant Breast Hypofractionated Radiotherapy and Toxicity Assessment

Background: the use of shorter radiotherapy schedules has an economic andlogistic advantage for radiotherapy departments, as well as a high degree of patientconvenience. the aim of this study is to assess the acute and short-term late toxicitiesof a hypofractionated radiotherapy schedule with a concomitant boost.methods: we enrolled 57 eligible patients as group a. these patients received 42.5gy in 16 fractions of 2.66 gy each to the whole breast over 3.2 weeks. a concomitantelectron boost of 12 gy in 16 fractions was also administered which gave an additional0.75 gy daily to the lumpectomy area for a total radiation dose of 54.5 gy. toxicitywas recorded at three weeks and at three months for this group as well as for a controlgroup (group b). the control group comprised 76 eligible patients treated conventionallywith 50 gy to the whole breast over five weeks followed by a sequential electron boostof 12 gy in 2 gy per fraction.results: there were no statistically significant differences observed in the incidenceof acute skin toxicity, breast pain, and edema recorded at three weeks or pigmentationand fibrosis recorded at three months between the two groups (p < 0.05). acceptabletoxicity occurred in both groups with no grade 3 or higher complications. chest wallseparation was highly correlated with toxicity in both groups (p < 0.001) while age showedno correlation (p > 0.05).conclusion: the results of this study suggest there are no increased acute and shorttermlate toxicities affiliated with the hypofractionated schedule plus a concomitant boostas prescribed compared to the conventional fractionation of adjuvant breast radiotherapy.large randomized trials and long-term follow-up are needed to confirm these favorablefindings.