Long term results of pulse dose rate brachytherapy for repeat irradiation in locally recurrent breast cancer

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness and tolerability of PDR-brachytherapy as a second radiotherapy treatment regime for locally recurrent breast tumours. To evaluate the feasibility of interstitial partial breast irradiation after local excision as an alternative to mastectomy in patient with recurrent breast cancer. Material and methods: 32 patients with small local recurrent breast cancer initially undergoing breast conserving therapy, which included postoperative radiotherapy, were prospectively treated with local tumour excision and PDR-brachytherapy from 11/1996 to 09/2005. Recurrences occurred after a med…