One-Week Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer Safe, Effective Up to 10 Years
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, May 27, 2025 -- A five-fraction, one-week schedule of adjuvant breast radiotherapy is as safe and effective as a standard three-week schedule for patients with invasive breast cancer who have undergone breast surgery, according to a study presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, held from May 2 to 6 in Vienna.
Adrian M. Brunt, M.B.B.S., from Keele University in Stoke-on-Trent, England, and colleagues randomly assigned 4,110 patients with invasive breast cancer (pT1-3 pN0-1 M0) who had undergone breast surgery to 40 gray in 15 fractions (40Gy/15Fr) over three weeks, 27Gy/5Fr over one week, or 26Gy/5Fr over one week of radiotherapy to the whole breast/chest wall. The primary end point was five-year ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence; follow-up continued to 10 years.
The researchers identified 116 ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences over 10-year follow-up. The shorter radiotherapy schedule provides a similar level of cancer control to standard treatment, with no additional long-term side effects observed. Breast tumor recurrence occurred in 3.6 percent of patients in the 40Gy/15Fr group and in 2.0 percent of patients in the 26Gy/5Fr group, meeting the criteria for noninferiority.
"This 10-year analysis provides definitive long-term evidence that one-week radiotherapy to the breast is a safe, effective, and more practical option for breast cancer patients," Brunt said in a statement.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted May 2025
Read this next
Risk for Second Cancer Low for Women Treated for Early, Invasive Breast Cancer
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2025 -- The risk for second primary cancers is higher for breast cancer survivors than for women in the general population; however, the risk remains low and is...
Discharge to Postacute Care Can Be Benchmark Metric for Older Surgical Patients
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2025 -- Discharge to postacute care for older adult surgical patients can be used as a benchmarking metric for hospitals, according to a study published online...
Endoscopic Sinus Surgery Beneficial for Chronic Rhinosinusitis
THURSDAY, Sept. 4, 2025 -- For patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, endoscopic sinus surgery improves disease-specific quality of life at six months, according to a study...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.