Rather than 25 radiotherapy doses over five weeks, breast cancer patients could have 13 more powerful doses, said Prof. John Yarnold, from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK.

Professor Yarnold, and his team, which consists of UK and US researchers, carried out a ten-year trial of 13 larger doses and concluded that the fewer, larger doses were just as effective as the 25 doses. He added that side effects were no greater either. The radiotherapy is aimed at preventing the cancer from returning.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust (UK), the Gloucestershire Oncology Centre (UK), the Institute of Cancer Research (UK) and the University of Wisconsin (USA) collaborated in the study.

You can read about this ten-year study in the journal Lancet Oncology. The study involved 1,410 women who underwent radiotherapy after surgery.

As well as being less complicated and exhausting for the patients, the shorter treatment period would reduce administration costs. Normally, a woman will go for radiotherapy once a day – Monday to Friday – for five weeks. The new alternative would mean a treatment course of just two weeks and three days – the patient does not go at weekends.

The researchers said it would be best to wait for their larger follow-up studies before confirming that fewer, larger radiotherapy sessions are better all round. For the patient this could mean fewer hospital visits and a better quality of life.

Breast cancer is commonly treated with a combination of surgery and radiotherapy. The radiotherapy destroys the cancer cells that are still in the patient’s breast after surgery has taken the tumour out (lumpectomy). Added to this, treatment will most likely involve chemotherapy. Depending on the type of cancer and how advanced it is, the patient will also undergo hormone therapy.

The NHS (National Health Service) of the UK has a shortage of radiotherapy machine operators. Fewer patient visits would help ease the shortage problem.

Breast cancer patients find the 5 week daily trip to the hospital exhausting, disrupting and often expensive if they have far to travel.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today