Multi-catheter High Dose Rate (HDR) Breast Brachytherapy
Multi-catheter High Dose Rate (HDR) Breast Brachytherapy
Breast conservation therapy (BCT) is now widely accepted as a treatment option for most women
 with Stage I and II invasive breast cancer and most patients with ductal carcinoma in situ
 (DCIS). Despite superior cosmetic outcome, BCT is more complex and requires a protracted
 treatment regimen comprised of 6 weeks of daily external beam radiation therapy to the whole
 breast. The purpose of this study is to determine if an acceptable outcome can be achieved
 with radiation delivered only to the region of the tumor bed. If this is true, partial breast
 irradiation may lend itself to much shorter treatment times (one week) and the toxicities to
 adjacent normal structures (heart, lung, chest wall) will be greatly reduced.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Invasive breast cancer or DCIS, tumor stage of Tis, T1, T2 if lesion is < 3 cm, N0 or
 N1 if 1-3 + nodes with no extracapsular extension