A retrospective study on improving the accuracy of radiotherapy for patients with breast cancer with lymph node metastasis using Styrofoam.

Abstract

Background: To retrospectively analyze the accuracy of radiotherapy using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), Styrofoam fixation, and breast bracket fixation in the chest wall target area and supraclavicular lymphatic drainage area (supraclavicular target area) of patients with breast cancer.and compare the setting efficiency and comfort satisfaction.

Patients and methods: A total of 65 patients with postoperative lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer, including 36 cases of Styrofoam fixation and 29 cases of breast bracket fixation, were recruited from March 2021 to August 2022 and retrospectively analyzed. All the patients underwent CBCT scans weekly, and the setup errors of the chest wall and supraclavicular target volume were compared and recorded. The planning target volume (PTV) margins of the two groups were calculated using the correlation M_PTV = 2.5Σ + 0.7σ. The setup time and comfort satisfaction scores of the two groups were recorded and analyzed. The correlations among errors in each direction were analyzed using the Pearson correlation analysis.

Results: There was a significant difference in the left-right direction (X) axis of the chest wall target area between the Styrofoam and breast bracket groups (1.59 ± 1.47 mm vs. 2.05 ± 1.64 mm, P = 0.012). There were statistical differences in the ventrodorsal direction (Z) and bed angle of the supraclavicular target area, the data were (1.36 ± 1.27 mm vs. 1.75 ± 1.55 mm, P = 0.046; 0.47 ± 0.47° vs. 0.66 ± 0.59°, P = 0.006, respectively). In the X, Y, and Z directions, the respective PTV margins of the two groups in the chest wall target area were 5.01 mm, 5.99 mm, and 5.47 mm in the Styrofoam group, while those in the breast bracket group were 6.10 mm, 6.34 mm, and 6.10 mm, respectively. Moreover, the PTV margins of the supraclavicular target in the three directions were 3.69 mm, 3.86 mm, and 4.28 mm in the Styrofoam group, while those in the breast bracket group were 3.99 mm, 3.72 mm, and 5.45 mm, respectively. The setup time of the two groups was 3.4 ± 1.1 min and 5.5 ± 3.1 min (P = 0.007). The subjective comfort satisfaction scores of the two groups were 27.50 ± 1.24 and 25.44 ± 1.23 (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The application of Styrofoam fixation in radiotherapy of breast cancer in the supraclavicular lymph node area has several advantages as compared to breast bracket fixation, including higher positioning accuracy, smaller external expansion boundary, improved work efficiency, and patients' comfort, which might provide a reference for clinical work.