Radiation-induced brachial plexus neuropathy following breast conservation and radical radiotherapy

✍ Scribed by L. C. Barr; Mr. M. W. Kissin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 212 KB
• Volume: 74
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0007-1323
• DOI: 10.1002/bjs.1800740935

✦ Synopsis

During the past decade there has been an increasing tendency to manage early breast cancer by wide local excision of the tumour plus radical radiotherapy t o the retained breast and nodal drainage areas. Preliminary results suggest this strategy is as effective as mastectomy. However, the long-term side-effects of irradiation have yet t o be fully evaluated.

Brachial plexus neuropathy is a n infrequent, but welldocumented, complication after mastectomy with radiotherapy, but its incidence after local excision and radiotherapy and its relationship t o dose-time irradiation schedules are, as yet, undefined.

W e present six cases after local excision with radiotherapy and discuss their implications.