Comments on: ABR Practice Exam Question 4 – Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) http://www.mdphysics.com/abr-practice-exam-question-4-accelerated-partial-breast-irradiation-apbi/ A weblog for and by the medical physics community Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:49:26 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: randy holt http://www.mdphysics.com/abr-practice-exam-question-4-accelerated-partial-breast-irradiation-apbi/comment-page-1/#comment-117 randy holt Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:01:45 +0000 http://www.mdphysics.com/?p=535#comment-117 #1 is wrong for another reason. Mammosite is a trade name that is specific to the Balloon used, and is not the only option for treating APBI brachytherapy. Contoura, Savi and Xoft are other (current) options. #4 is not exactly wrong. Firstly, the word 'possible' makes this statement logically impossible to be right or wrong. Secondly, very few IMRT plans are better 'more conformal' than simple forward planned field in field (which really still counts as 3DCRT, as IMRT requires inverse planning, not just modulation), except in a small percentage of oddly shaped patients. Most IMRT plans with better conformance do so at the expense of increased dose to heart and lungs. #1 is wrong for another reason. Mammosite is a trade name that is specific to the Balloon used, and is not the only option for treating APBI brachytherapy. Contoura, Savi and Xoft are other (current) options.

#4 is not exactly wrong. Firstly, the word ‘possible’ makes this statement logically impossible to be right or wrong. Secondly, very few IMRT plans are better ‘more conformal’ than simple forward planned field in field (which really still counts as 3DCRT, as IMRT requires inverse planning, not just modulation), except in a small percentage of oddly shaped patients. Most IMRT plans with better conformance do so at the expense of increased dose to heart and lungs.

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