Department of Radiology, Istituto Diagnostico Varelli, Naples, Italy.
Radiology Division, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, Italy.
Korean J Radiol. 2024 Nov;25(11):982-991. doi: 10.3348/kjr.2024.0672.
External beam radiation therapy (RT) can induce toxicity in patients surgically treated for breast cancer. Modern irradiation techniques have lowered the incidence and severity of radiation-induced injuries; however, their side effects on normal tissues remain challenging. This review illustrates early and late changes observed using ultrasound (US) imaging, including echocardiography, at the skin, muscle, pleura, lungs, and heart levels. The US findings and the potential role of this technique in detecting and grading early and late complications of RT are highlighted in this article. US has proven useful in the differential diagnosis of post-RT complications, including but not limited to cancer recurrence and toxicity from other sources, such as anticancer drugs. Additionally, considering the progressive nature of RT-induced injury, early detection of toxicity may be helpful in the individual stratification of damage risk and serve as a tool for patient screening and management. In these cases, US can be used as a radiation-free biomarker of RT side effects at the subclinical stage.
体外放射治疗 (RT) 可导致接受乳腺癌手术治疗的患者产生毒性。现代放射技术降低了放射性损伤的发生率和严重程度;然而,它们对正常组织的副作用仍然具有挑战性。本文通过超声 (US) 成像,包括超声心动图,阐述了在皮肤、肌肉、胸膜、肺和心脏水平观察到的早期和晚期变化。本文强调了 US 检查结果以及该技术在检测和分级 RT 早期和晚期并发症中的潜在作用。US 已被证明在鉴别诊断 RT 后并发症方面非常有用,包括但不限于癌症复发和来自其他来源的毒性,如抗癌药物。此外,考虑到 RT 诱导损伤的进展性质,早期检测毒性可能有助于对损伤风险进行个体化分层,并作为患者筛选和管理的工具。在这些情况下,US 可作为亚临床阶段 RT 副作用的无辐射生物标志物。