A meta-analysis points to the strengths of moderate hypofractionation in minimizing some acute and late adverse effects.
Various radiation fractionation schedules exist in breast cancer treatment, and different clinical scenarios might make one approach more appropriate than another. Important considerations beyond efficacy are adverse effect profiles and cosmesis. To learn more about these effects in a meta-analysis, investigators searched all relevant, randomized, controlled, postsurgical studies worldwide to identify 35 clinical trials (>20,000 patients) evaluating different fractionation schedules: conventional fractionation (CF; daily dose, 1.8–2.0 Gy; typical total dose, 50.0–50.4 Gy, in 25–28 fractions over 5–6 weeks), moderate hypofractionation (MHF; daily dose, 2.65–3.30 Gy; 13–16 fractions over 3–5 weeks), or ultra-fractionation (UHF; 5 total fracti…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead
Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation
Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)
DisclosuresConsultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead
Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation
Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)