Grant: Operating Grant

Women diagnosed with an early stage cancer of the breast usually have the cancer removed by lumpectomy and then have radiation treatments to the entire breast. The radiation treatments prevent the cancer from growing back in the breast for nearly all women. In 2008 we have published the result of a canadian multicentre study funded by the CIHR showing that a novel radiation technique called Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) significantly reduces the occurence of radiation burns in women treated with radiotherapy from 48% to 31%. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a way to treat the breast so that there are no areas in the breast that receive more radiation than necessary, and so that the skin receives less radiation. While radiation burns on the skin are associated with pain and a reduction of the quality of life they generally heal few weeks after the treatment. It is possible that more permanent treatment side complications, including the occurence of patch of red vessels under the skin, of indurations or of a chronic pain may be linked to the occurence of radiation burns. If so the novel technique of breast IMRT may also reduce those long term and permanent side effects. We will do scientific measurements to find out if the there is a reduction in permanent complications of the radiation treatment like permanent skin damages when using the novel radiation technique is used. To do so, we will recall all patients treated in tyhe first trial for a single clinical assessment at the Cancer Centre.