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Breast cancer patients do better with shorter radiation treatments

Breast cancer patients are given unnecessary doses of radiation therapy Information Daily , October 1, 2013   For the first time, researchers have admitted that shorter radiotherapy treatments may be as effective as longer treatments, with fewer side effects.

Scientists have found that longer bouts of radiotherapy are overcompensating for cancer cell growth that occurs overnight and during weekends, causing unnecessary and uncomfortable side effects……..

overall they found that an even shorter one-week radiotherapy schedule could replace the contemporary five to seven week schedules – and could even trump the newly popular three week schedule.

Overall, it is clear that clinicans support this move, arguing that shorter treatment schedules would be more convenient for patients, with benefits including fewer trips to the hospital, and also highly cost-effective for health services.

“If further investigations confirm that a shorter radiotherapy schedule is as effective as the current standard of care, it will be another step towards making treatments easier and more bearable for patients, and possibly cheaper for healthcare services”.

Lead author, Prof Yarnold, added that, “if confirmed, it means that current trends to deliver shorter radiotherapy schedules are likely to bear fruit in the future”.

However, she emphasised that “current schedules delivered over five weeks or more remain highly effective, and patients should follow recommendations from their specialists”. http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2013/10/01/breast-cancer-patients-are-given-unnecessary-doses-of-radiation-therapy

October 1, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health, radiation, women