Consensus Statement on Tumour Bed Localization for Radiation after Oncoplastic Breast Surgery

Background: Oncoplastic surgery (ops) is becoming the new standard of care for breast-conserving surgery, leading to some challenges with adjuvant radiation, particularly when accurate tumour bed (tbd) delineation is needed for focused radiation (that is, accelerated partial breast irradiation or boost radiation). Currently, no guidelines have been published concerning tbd localization for adjuvant targeted radiation after ops. Methods: A modified Delphi method was used to establish consensus by a panel of 20 experts in surgical and radiation oncology at the Canadian Locally Advanced Breast Cancer National Consensus Group and in a subsequent online member survey. Results: These are the main recommendations: (1) Surgical clips are necessary and should, at a minimum, be placed along the 4 side walls of the cavity, plus 1–4 clips at the posterior margin if necessary. (2) Operative reports should include pertinent information to help guide the radiation oncologists. (3) Breast surgeons and radiation oncologists should have a basic understanding of ops techniques and work on “speaking a common language.” (4) Careful consideration is needed when determining the value of targeted radiation, such as boost, in higher-level ops procedures with extensive tissue rearrangement. Conclusions: The panel developed a total of 6 recommendations on tbd delineation for more focused radiation therapy after ops, with more than 80% agreement on each statement. All are summarized, together with the corresponding evidence or expert opinion.