Outcomes of intraoperative radiotherapy for early-stage breast cancer: Experience from a multidisciplinary breast oncology program

Background: Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) was implemented at our institution for early stage breast cancer patients including those with geographic or medical co-morbidity limitations to whole breast radiation therapy (WBRT). Methods: Retrospective review of patients (n = 127) who underwent IORT from 2009 to 2016 for breast cancer. Demographics, pathology, toxicity, and recurrences were ascertained. Results: The median age was 67 years (interquartile range: 62–73). At median follow-up (49.6 months), 5 patients (4%) had ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence with median time to recurrence of 36.8 months. Acute and late grade ≥3 skin toxicities were observed in 3.1% and 4.7% of patients, respectively. A subset (n = 7) who received prior ipsilateral WBRT was found to have no subsequent local recurrence, one case of acute grade 3 skin toxicity, and no late toxicity. Conclusions: IORT is a safe and effective alternative to whole breast radiotherapy, and serves as a suitable alternative to completion mastectomy in locally recurrent breast cancer.