Enter Your Email Address to Receive a
Copy of MedicExhange Member Demograhpics

The Breast Conserving Surgery Project Researchers said that Radiation therapy after lumpectomy for breast cancer improves survival chances for patients receiving this treatment.

Vincent Vinh-Hung, MD, and Claire Verschraegen, MD, found that women who don’t receive radiotherapy after their breast-conserving surgery increase their risk of dying from the cancer by 8.6%.

The research "reinforces the view that the large majority of patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery should also receive radiotherapy," said Katherine Vallis, MD, and Ian Tannock, MD, of Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital, in an editorial accompanying the study.

Earlier Studies Found Reduced Recurrence, but Not Better Survival: Many studies have shown that radiation therapy to the breast after lumpectomy will lower the chance that the cancer will come back in the same breast. This led to a National Institutes of Health consensus that radiotherapy was the proper treatment after lumpectomy.

Radiation Worth the Inconvenience: Although almost all doctors believe that lumpectomy is as effective as mastectomy for small breast cancers, the radiation afterwards can be problematic for some women.

Radiation Less Risky Today: Vallis and Tannock also point out that past problems with radiotherapy, such as heart damage, have been largely overcome with modern techniques so that it carries little risk today.

Vinh-Hung and Verschraegen note that women with certain other medical conditions may experience too many side effects. And for older women with very small tumors, the increase in life expectancy with radiation may be miniscule. Except for these instances, though, they conclude that "radiotherapy should not be omitted after breast-conserving surgery."

Source: ACS

Discuss more about Radiation in our Radiology group