Accelerated partial breast irradiation with brachytherapy: patient selection and technique considerations

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) through breast brachytherapy is a relatively recent development in breast radiotherapy that has gained international favor because of its reduction in treatment duration and normal tissue irradiation while maintaining favorable cancer-specific and cosmetic outcomes. Despite the fact that several large national trials have not reported final results yet, many providers are currently offering APBI to select patients and APBI is listed as a treatment option for selecting patients in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Multiple consensus guidelines exist in selecting patients for APBI, some with conflicting recommendations. In this review, the existing patient selection guidelines are reported, compared, and critiqued, grouping them in helpful subcategories. Unique patient and technical selection factors for APBI with brachytherapy are explored.