Radiation therapy planning of a breast cancer patient with in situ pacemaker--challenges and lessons.
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.
Munshi
Anusheel
A
Department of Radiation Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India. anusheel8@hotmail.com
Wadasadawala
Tabassum
T
Sharma
Pramod Kumar
PK
Sharma
Dayananda
D
Budrukkar
Ashwini
A
Jalali
Rakesh
R
Dinshaw
Ketayun A
KA
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