Assessment of early side effects of radiotherapy in breast cancer patients

Abstract EN

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women.

In radiotherapy practice, it comprises 25% of patient caseload.

This makes understanding the breast irradiation toxicities of prime importance.

Early radiation toxicities occur during treatment and up to six months after treatment finished.

Objectives: assessment of the early side effects of adjuvant external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in breast cancer patients.

Patients and Methods: A cross sectional survey with analytic component conducted on 60 patients treated in the oncology teaching hospital of medical city from January to April 2016.

Results: The most prevalent toxicities were radiation dermatitis, fatigue, pain, sore throat, nausea, dysphagia, and arm edema.

There was a significant difference between prevalence of dermatitis with different radiation doses used.

Dermatitis was more prevalent with conventional fractionation (CF), than in hypofractionated radiotherapy.

Conclusion: Dermatitis was the most common acute toxicity of radiotherapy in breast cancer patients with prevalence of 81.6 %.

It was related to dose fractionation.

Fatigue was the 2nd common (70%).

It was correlated with disease stage.