Shielding of the contralateral breast during tangential irradiation.
The purpose of this study was to investigate both optimal and practical contralateral breast shielding during tangential irradiation in young patients. A shaped sheet of variable thickness of lead was tested on a phantom with rubber breasts, and an optimized shield was created. Testing on 18 consecutive patients 50 years or younger showed shielding consistently reduced contralateral breast dose to at least half, with small additional reduction after removal of the medial wedge. For younger patients in whom radiation exposure is of considerable concern, a simple shield of 2 mm lead thickness proved practical and effective.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, USA. goffmate@evms.edu
Thomas E
TE
Goffman
Michael
M
Miller
Christine
C
Laronga
Shelly
S
Oliver
Ping
P
Wong
D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead; D008875:Middle Aged; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011835:Radiation Protection
D007854:Lead