Cardiac protective techniques in left breast radiotherapy: rapid selection criteria for routine clinical decision making.

Various cutoff points in left breast RT can be used to predict whether RT plans will meet QUANTEC (Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic) heart dose limits. Evaluating only these few cutoff points before planning makes it possible to eliminate 70% of patients with BCS and 40% of patients with mastectomy from respiratory-controlled methods, which require time and effort. Patients with lung volume and lung/heart volume ratio smaller than the cutoff values can be considered primary candidates for heart-sparing techniques.