Many Breast Cancer Patients Get Too Much Radiation Therapy, Research Suggests
Many Breast Cancer Patients Get Too Much Radiation Therapy, Research Suggests
By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Many studies have affirmed that a newer, shorter course of radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer works just as well as a longer course.
However, new research suggests that many U.S. patients still get radiation therapy for much longer than they need to.
The analysis of data, involving millions of women, found that two-thirds of breast cancer patients who've had breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) undergo six to seven weeks of radiation therapy.
However, multiple studies suggest that an alternative course of only three weeks of higher-dose radiation -- called hypofractionated whole breast radiation -- is just as effective, more convenient and cheaper than longer, conventional radiation therapy, according to the study authors.
The newer type of radiation therapy is supported by four studies and practice guidelines from the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the researchers noted.
The study was published in the Dec. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
One expert wasn't surprised by the finding.
The reasons behind the continued overuse of the longer course of radiation treatment "need to be investigated to further elucidate why there has been a slow transition to the shorter course of therapy," said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
"In the meantime, women need to raise the issue with their radiation oncologist to see if they qualify for the three-week course of radiation," she said.
The study found that in 2013, only 34.5 percent of early-stage breast cancer patients older than 50 received the shorter-course hypofractionated therapy. That's at least a higher percentage than the roughly 11 percent of women who were using the newer radiation regimen in 2008, said researchers led by Dr. Justin Bekelman, an assistant professor of radiation oncology, medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Among younger women and those with more advanced cancers, about 21 percent received hypofractionated therapy in 2013, compared with about 8 percent in 2008, the study also found.
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Many studies have affirmed that a newer, shorter course of radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer works just as well as a longer course.
However, new research suggests that many U.S. patients still get radiation therapy for much longer than they need to.
The analysis of data, involving millions of women, found that two-thirds of breast cancer patients who've had breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) undergo six to seven weeks of radiation therapy.
However, multiple studies suggest that an alternative course of only three weeks of higher-dose radiation -- called hypofractionated whole breast radiation -- is just as effective, more convenient and cheaper than longer, conventional radiation therapy, according to the study authors.
The newer type of radiation therapy is supported by four studies and practice guidelines from the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the researchers noted.
The study was published in the Dec. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
One expert wasn't surprised by the finding.
The reasons behind the continued overuse of the longer course of radiation treatment "need to be investigated to further elucidate why there has been a slow transition to the shorter course of therapy," said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
"In the meantime, women need to raise the issue with their radiation oncologist to see if they qualify for the three-week course of radiation," she said.
The study found that in 2013, only 34.5 percent of early-stage breast cancer patients older than 50 received the shorter-course hypofractionated therapy. That's at least a higher percentage than the roughly 11 percent of women who were using the newer radiation regimen in 2008, said researchers led by Dr. Justin Bekelman, an assistant professor of radiation oncology, medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Among younger women and those with more advanced cancers, about 21 percent received hypofractionated therapy in 2013, compared with about 8 percent in 2008, the study also found.
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