COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE ACUTE RADIODERMITE DEGREE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL FRACTIONS AND HYPOFRACIONATION IN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

Introduction: Globally, apart from non-melanoma skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common and common type of malignant tumor among women and it is estimated that almost 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in Brazil. Breast hypofractionation is already recommended by the Brazilian Society of Radiotherapy as a safe and viable alternative to conventional treatment. Objective: To compare acute toxicity with respect to radiodermatitis between conventional fractionations and hypofractionation in the treatment of breast cancer. Methodology: 95 patients with breast cancer treated with radiotherapy at Hospital Mãe de Deus since the beginning of 2018 were evaluated for radiodermatitis based on the RTOG scale. Evaluations were performed at the middle and end of the course of treatment. Two subgroups were created: patients treated in 15 fractions of 267cGy (with or without simultaneous boost) and those treated with conventional fractionation in 25 fractions of 200 cGy, as clinically indicated. These patients were treated with three-dimensional field in field radiotherapy or, in special cases, with IMRT and all underwent nursing consultation where they were advised on skin care during and after treatment. Results: 55 patients were evaluated during treatment with hypofractionated radiotherapy. Of these, 100% had grade 1 radiodermatitis in the first evaluation. At discharge assessment, 80% had grade 1 and 20% grade 2. 40 patients were treated with conventional fractionation. In the first evaluation, 93% of the patients had radiodermatitis grade 1 and 7% grade 2. At the end of treatment, 35% had grade 1 and 65% grade 2 radiodermatitis. Conclusions: The data obtained in the study corroborate the data present in the literature. When indicated, hypofractionation is better with regard to the degree of acute radiodermatitis.