Combined modality treatment of operable breast cancer using intraoperative radiotherapy

Objective of the study: To review worldwide literature data on the efficacy of combined modality treatment including intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) in patients with operable breast cancer (BC). Material and Мethods. Of 110 publications (2000-2021) available from Scopus, Pubmed, Elibrary and other databases, using the key “breast cancer”, “local recurrence”, “intraoperative radiotherapy” and “radiation technique”, 45 were included in the literature review. Results. Radiotherapy is of paramount importance in the organ-preserving treatment of breast cancer, as numerous randomised studies have shown that the use of postoperative radiotherapy dramatically reduces the number of locoregional recurrences. The use of IORT as an effective method of relapse prevention compared to standard postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy is an important trend in radiation oncology. Conclusion. The use of IORT in combination treatment modality for operable breast cancer should be differentiated and based on clinical and morphological prognostic factors. Different molecular subtypes of breast cancer are characterized by significant differences in pathogenesis and response to therapy. Further studies on the effectiveness of IORT are required to identify a group of patients with absolute indications for the use of IORT.