McMaster-led study finds short-term radiation therapy successful against breast cancer

An intense three-week course of radiation therapy is just as effective as the standard five-week regimen for women with early-stage breast cancer.

Dr. Tim Whelan, a professor of oncology at McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, led a team of researchers to find that women who received the accelerated therapy have a low risk of the breast cancer for as long as 12 years after treatment. The study was conducted by the Ontario Clinical Oncology Group under the direction of Dr. Mark Levine.

The results are to be published in the Feb. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, and have been presented to a meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

The study concluded a shorter, more intense course of therapy is as safe and effective as the standard treatment for select women who have undergone breast-conserving surgery.

Women who receive a three-week treatment - called accelerated hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation - have a low risk of side effects and recurrence of the cancer more than decade after treatment. It is just as effective as the standard five-week course of radiation following surgery to remove the malignancy.

source: McMaster University