title: Partial frequency of radiation pneumonitis and its association with the energy and treatment technique in patients with breast cancer, Isfahan, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women, and the second cause of cancer mortality after pulmonary cancer in this gender. Radiotherapy is one of the major treatments, which locally controls the disease and prohibits in recurrency. Radiation pneumonitis is one of the radiotherapy complications, which usually occurs within 1.5-3 months after radiotherapy. As there is no precise estimation concerning this complication in Isfahan, partial frequency of radiation pneumonitis and its association with the energy and treatment technique in patients with breast cancer were evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an analytic cross-sectional study performed in 2010 in university referral center. A total of 382 patients with breast cancer, undergone surgery and referred for radiotherapy entered the study. A posterior and anterior and lateral X-Rays were taken as control images before starting radiotherapy and all X-Rays were repeated after 3-4 months post radiotherapy. The occurrence of radiotherapy pneumonitis was evaluated by the same radiologist. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 20.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 382 patients undergone breast conservative surgery (BCS) or modified radical mastectomy (MRM), and radiotherapy, 60 patients had pneumonitis of whom 6 patients underwent BCS and were treated by tangential field (three cases by Co 60 and three cases by PH 9). The rest of radiotherapy pneumonitis patients (n = 54) underwent MRM of whom, 42 cases were treated by one-field and 12 by two-field treatment techniques.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Incidence of radiotherapy pneumonitis was different with respect to the adopted technique (one-field, two-field and tangential) (P = 0.023), with the highest association with two-field radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Hezar Jirib, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tajvidi
authors.forename: Mehri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sirous
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sirous
authors.forename: Parastou
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hajian
keywords: Breast cancer; breast conservative surgery; chest X-ray; energy field; modified radical mastectomy; radiotherapy pneumonitis