Surgery>>>>>Breast
Question 16#

All of the following are true about accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) EXCEPT:

A. APBI is delivered in an abbreviated fashion and a lower total dose than standard course of whole breast radiation
B. Suitable patients for APBI include women older than or equal to 60 years
C. Suitable patients for APBI include patients whose tumor margins are greater than or equal to 2 mm
D. Suitable patients for APBI include those with multifocal disease

Correct Answer is D

Comment:

Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) is delivered in an abbreviated fashion (twice daily for 5 days) and at a lower total dose compared with the standard course of 5 to 6 weeks of radiation (50 Gray with or without a boost) in the case of whole breast irradiation. The ASTRO guidelines describe patients "suitable" for APBI to include women older than 60 years with a unifocal, Tl, ER-positive tumor with no lymphovascular invasion, and margins of at least 2 mm. Finally, a group felt to be "unsuitable" for APBI includes those with T3 or T4 disease, ER-negative disease, multifocality, multicentricity, extensive lymphovascular invasion (LVI), or positive margins.