In breast cancer volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning, the rotation of the gantry around the target implies a greater dose spreading to the whole heart, compared to tangential-field standard treatment. A consecutive cohort of 121 breast cancer patients treated with the VMAT technique was investigated. The correlation of breast volume, heart volume and lung volume with mean heart dose (mHD) and mean and maximum LAD dose (mLAD dose, MLAD dose) was tested, and a subsequent a linear regression analysis was carried out. VMAT treatment plans from 56 left breast cancer and 65 right breast cancer patients were analyzed. For right-sided patients, breast volume was significantly correlated with mHD, mLAD and MLAD dose, while for left-sided patients, breast volume was significantly correlated with mHD and mLAD, while heart volume and lung volume were correlated with mHD, mLAD and MLAD dose. Breast volume was the only predictor of increased heart and LAD dose (p ≤ 0.001) for right-sided patients. In left-sided patients, heart and lung were also predictors of increased mHD (p = 0.005, p ≤ 0.001) and mean LAD dose (p = 0.009, p ≤ 0.001). In this study, we observed an increase in heart and LAD doses in larger-breasted patients treated with VMAT planning. In right-sided patients, breast volume was shown to be the only predictor of increased heart dose and LAD dose.

BACKGROUND/AIM:The high sensitivity cardiac troponin T (Hs-cTnT) is a myocardial damage biomarker that could have a predictive value in patients who undergo radiotherapy for left sided breast cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early effect of left whole breast radiotherapy (WB-RT) on serum Hs-cTnT levels and its correlation with pre-existing factors.PATIENTS AND METHODS:The study was conducted from December 2017 to May 2018. Forty-five patients with early stage left-sided breast cancer who received adjuvant breast hypofractionated RT without prior chemotherapy were included. Serum levels of Hs-cTnT were obtained before, weekly during RT, and within one week after the end of treatment. Considering the physiological variations of serum levels, an increase in Hs-cTnT (∆Hs-cTnT) of more than 30% from the baseline value was chosen as a threshold. The main cardiovascular risk factors were recorded. Dose volume histograms (DVHs) were used to provide a quantitative analysis for the whole heart, left ventricle, and left anterior descending artery (LAD).RESULTS:Twelve of 45 patients (26.6%) showed a ∆Hs-cTnT ≥30%. The maximum Hs-cTnT level was recorded in the last week of treatment. ∆Hs-cTnT was strongly associated with heart V5 (p=0.05) and hypertension (p=0.05). Multivariate analysis confirmed the importance of the heart V5 and correlated with ∆Hs-cTnT.CONCLUSION:The increase in Hs-cTnT serum levels during adjuvant WB-RT suggested a correlation with the cardiac radiation dose in chemotherapy-naive breast cancer patients. A longer follow-up is needed to correlate Hs-cTnT values with cardiac events.