ASTRO publishes whole breast irradiation guidelines

Fairfax, Va., August 4, 2010 - The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has released evidence-based guidelines to define appropriate fractionation of whole breast irradiation (WBI), finding that hypofractionated (HF) WBI is effective for many patients with early-stage breast cancer. These guidelines are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.

Studies have shown that WBI following breast conserving surgery lowers the risk of tumor recurrence and improves survival. Most studies used conventionally fractionated (CF) radiation, which involves daily treatments for up to seven weeks. Despite its effectiveness, conventional fractionation has some drawbacks, including the inconvenience associated with undergoing treatment for a long period of time and the total costs, including both direct health care expenditures and opportunity costs to the patient from being away from home and work.

HF-WBI is a type of WBI that uses a higher dose for each treatment but fewer total treatments, so patients can typically finish radiation in four weeks or less. Several trials have found little difference in the local control and survival outcomes for selected patients treated with either CF-WBI or HF-WBI.

source: ASTRO