Cosmesis
toxicity
WEST
Three hundred and eighty patients were enrolled into the cosmesis sub-study; 324 of whom had at least a baseline assessment and were included in the clinician's assessment analysis. One hundred and eighty patients received synchronous CRT, with 144 receiving sequential. This imbalance was possibly due to the fact that most of the consultants enrolling into the cosmesis sub-study were from the West Midlands and tended to use anthracycline-CMF, with 3-weekly radiotherapy. Although numbers of patients per arm differed, baseline characteristics were balanced between the arms (see Differences in treatments and baseline characteristics of patients included in the SECRAB cosmesis sub-study compared to the parent trialCMF, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil; ER, oestrogen receptor; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; MMM, mitomycin-C, mitoxantrone and methotrexate; PgR, progesterone receptor.Note: Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.When compared with the patient characteristics of all patients randomised within the SECRAB trial [No differences in acute skin reactions were observed between synchronous and sequential CRT treatment at the initial assessment, or at the first follow-up visit following the end of all adjuvant treatment within this sub-study (Analysis of the SECRAB cosmesis sub-studyWLE, wide local excision.Note: Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.At the end of all adjuvant treatment (usually 6–12 weeks).Within 1 week of completing radiotherapy.There were also no differences in late toxicity observed at endpoints between sequential and concurrent treatment (as assessed via the treating clinician, via independent consensus using photographs and the patient). The only exception was the physician assessment at 5 years; here, a statistically significant improvement was observed in cosmesis following WLE in those patients who received sequential CRT compared to synchronous (