Can Women with Early Breast Cancer Benefit from a Shorter Course of Radiation Therapy?

Accelerated partial breast irradiation was noninferior to whole breast irradiation for preventing local recurrence but caused worse cosmetic deformities.

Whole breast irradiation (WBI) after lumpectomy reduces risk for local recurrence. Such therapy is delivered daily for 3 to 5 weeks. Most recurrences are thought to occur within 2 cm of the tumor bed; thus, accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) delivered only to that area twice daily for 1 week is viewed as an attractive potential alternative.

In an international noninferiority trial, 2135 women aged ≥40 with early-stage invasive or in situ breast cancer <3 cm were assigned to external beam APBI or WBI. Most tumors were <1.5 cm and almost 90% were estrogen-receptor positive and HER-2/neu–receptor negative. After a median follow up of 8.6 years, rate of in-breast tumor recurrence was 3.0% (APBI) and 2.8% (WBI; hazard ratio, 1.3). Alth…

Reviewing Author

Laila Samiian, MD, FACS

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAssociation of Women Surgeons (Member, Publications Committee)

Laila Samiian, MD, FACS

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAssociation of Women Surgeons (Member, Publications Committee)

Can Women with Early Breast Cancer Benefit from a Shorter Course of Radiation Therapy?

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Reviewing Author