S. Jolly

Pathologic Anatomy of Early-Stage Breast Cancer and its Relevance to Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation: Defining the Target

The optimal margin of tissue requiring RT after lumpectomy in patients treated with PBI remains controversial. However, recent radiographic and pathologic data suggest that a margin of 10 mm around the tumor bed appears adequate for coverage of any disease remaining in the breast after lumpectomy in most (>90%) patients treated with PBI, provided the final negative margins are negative using the NSABP criteria. More restrictive pathologic criteria can be used to identify patients with disease beyond 10 mm. Additional pathologic analysis as well as long-term clinical data on patients treated with PBI are required to provide stricter guidelines in establishing the optimal CTV for PBI.