Evaluation of tattoo reliability in breast cancer re-irradiation.

Grace Lee, Michael Velec, Hedi Mohseni, Tara Rosewall, Yat Tsang, Jennifer Croke

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Technical innovations & patient support in radiation oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Grace LeePrincess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Michael VelecPrincess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Hedi MohseniPrincess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Tara RosewallPrincess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Yat TsangPrincess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Jennifer CrokePrincess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Tattoos help guide field placement in breast re-irradiation. This study evaluates the stability of medial tattoos in patients with prior breast radiotherapy (RT) to determine their reliability as surface markers. Materials and methods: We retrospectively identified patients who had breast/chest wall re-irradiation between January 2022 and December 2023 (RT Results: Eighteen patients were included, average sternum 3D TRE was 0.8 mm(SD0.8), within CT voxel thickness. The average medial tattoo 3D TRE was 9.2 mm(SD5.4). Significantly greater 3D TRE was observed in patients whose arm positions varied between scans (Same: 4.7 mm vs Different: 10.9 mm, p = 0.002). The largest 3D TRE was 22.1 mm, observed in a patient who had a mastectomy before RT Conclusion: Relying solely on previous medial tattoos as indicators of the previous RT field border can be inaccurate due to arm positioning and surgical procedure changes that impact surface anatomy over time. Reproducing the patient's original setup and arm positioning is essential to reducing registration errors in breast re-irradiation. If varying arm positions are unavoidable, internal thoracic perforator vessels may provide more robust registration.

Indexed as

Breast radiation therapyImage registrationRe-irradiationSkin marksTattoo marksTattoo stability

Identifiers

PMID40909936

DOI10.1016/j.tipsro.2025.100338

PMCPMC12405635

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.