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Table 4 Assessment of cosmetic effects by physician, nurse, and patient at different periods by study arm

From: Toxicity of external beam accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in adjuvant therapy of early-stage breast cancer: prospective randomized study

 

APBI

WBI

p-value

Nearly identical to untreated

Slightly different

Clearly different

Seriously distorted

Nearly identical to untreated

Slightly different

Clearly different

Seriously distorted

Any difference

Major difference*

Baseline

          

Physician

33 (79%)

9 (21%)

—

—

37 (88%)

5 (12%)

—

—

0.380

—

Nurse

30 (71%)

12 (29%)

—

—

34 (81%)

8 (19%)

—

—

0.443

—

Patient

25 (60%)

14 (33%)

3 (7.1%)

—

26 (62%)

13 (31%)

3 (7.1%)

—

> 0.999

> 0.999

M0-M3

          

Physician

21 (50%)

21 (50%)

—

—

9 (21%)

30 (71%)

3 (7.1%)

—

0.012

0.241

Nurse

20 (48%)

22 (52%)

—

—

10 (24%)

29 (69%)

3 (7.1%)

—

0.040

0.241

Patient

9 (21%)

32 (76%)

1 (2.4%)

—

7 (17%)

24 (57%)

10 (24%)

1 (2.4%)

0.782

0.003

M6-M12

          

Physician

33 (79%)

9 (21%)

—

—

22 (52%)

18 (43%)

2 (4.8%)

—

0.021

0.494

Nurse

35 (83%)

7 (17%)

—

—

20 (48%)

20 (48%)

2 (4.8%)

—

0.001

0.494

Patient

26 (62%)

16 (38%)

—

—

9 (21%)

28 (67%)

4 (9.5%)

1 (2.4%)

< 0.001

0.055

M16-M24

          

Physician

26 (62%)

16 (38%)

—

—

24 (59%)

17 (41%)

—

—

> 0.999

—

Nurse

26 (62%)

16 (38%)

—

—

23 (56%)

18 (44%)

—

—

0.824

—

Patient

20 (48%)

21 (50%)

1 (2.4%)

—

13 (32%)

26 (63%)

2 (4.9%)

—

0.266

> 0.999

  1. *Comparing numbers of patients with clearly different and seriously distorted cosmetic effects
  2. Abbreviations: APBI = accelerated partial breast irradiation, WBI = whole breast irradiation