title: Radiation therapy planning of a breast cancer patient with in situ pacemaker--challenges and lessons.
abstract: A postmenopausal lady with an in situ pacemaker developed a lump in the left breast and was diagnosed to have breast cancer. The patient underwent breast conservative surgery and was planned for post operative radiotherapy. The location of the tumor relative to the pacemaker provided a unique challenge in planning radiotherapy and the patient had an uneventful post radiotherapy course. A literature review revealed that modern generation pacemakers are very sensitive to radiation compared to their older counterparts. The present article makes suggestions towards reducing dose in radiotherapy planning in pacemaker patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India. anusheel8@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Anusheel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Munshi
authors.forename: Tabassum
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wadasadawala
authors.forename: Pramod Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Dayananda
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Ashwini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Budrukkar
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jalali
authors.forename: Ketayun A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dinshaw
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D003657:Decision Making; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011874:Radiometry; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted