BACKGROUND Extranodal soft tissue extension of axillary lymph node metastases (ETE) has been considered an indication for postmastectomy radiotherapy, including the axilla. However, it is unclear whether patients with ETE are at an increased risk of axillary recurrence. METHODS From a single institutional database of 2362 patients with breast carcinoma treated between 1974-1994, a total of 48...

The indication for adjuvant postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) in breast cancer patients with small tumors and 1-3 macrometastases in the axilla remains a controversial issue, despite the recommendation that PMRT should be applied in these patients in the most recent overview by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group. In this report, we discuss the available data on the benefit ...

The indications and benefits of postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) continue to evolve. Advances in systemic adjuvant therapy and targeted therapy for breast cancer are likely to play an increasingly important role in control of locoregional as well as distant disease. Ongoing scrutiny of patterns of chest wall failure will be required to define the net benefit derived from PMRT. This artic...

Introduction: The postmastectomy radiotherapy uses bolus to improve the coverage close to the skin; however, it needs to be removed in case of severe skin toxicity. This study investigated the effect of bolus parameters (i.e., frequency and thickness) for the superposition algorithm on skin dose in postmastectomy three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT). <str...