Individual positioning: a comparative study of adjuvant breast radiotherapy in the prone versus supine position.
Varga Z, Hideghéty K, Mezo T, Nikolényi A, Thurzó L, Kahán Z.
Abstract
PurposeTo study breast radiotherapy in the prone vs. supine positions through dosimetry and clinical implementation.Methods and materialsConformal radiotherapy plans in 61 patients requiring only breast irradiation were developed for both the prone and supine positions. After evaluation of the of the first 20 plan pairs, the patients were irradiated in the prone or supine position in a randomized fashion. These cases were analyzed for repositioning accuracy and skin reactions related to treatment position and patient characteristics.ResultsThe planning target volume covered with 47.5-53.5 Gy in the prone vs. the supine position was 85.1% +/- 4.2% vs. 89.2 +/- 2.2%, respectively (p ConclusionsConformal breast radiotherapy is feasible in the prone position. Its primary advantage is the substantially lower radiation dose to the ipsilateral lung. The higher dose inhomogeneity and increased rate of Grade 1-2 skin toxicity, however, may be of concern.