Fewer sessions of radiotherapy for breast cancer could have more impact on sufferers’ wellbeing than longer treatment cycles, according to recent research. Depending on where we live in the world, techniques to get rid of breast cancer vary, and this new study could see us being offered cycles of radiotherapy that have a more positive impact on wellbeing than current treatment methods.
International standards
Women who get breast cancer usually get offered radiotherapy to shrink tumours and remove tissue that could move throughout the body creating more malignant lumps. But radiotherapy can have side effects that continue to affect our wellbeing for years after tumours have been removed. Outside of the UK, we may be offered 25 cycles of radiotherapy, as this has been linked with a good prognosis, but in the UK we might instead get 15 cycles of the treatment.
This could fall even further if clinics take into account the results from a Cancer Research UK study that looked at relapse rates in breast cancer sufferers. The survey showed that few women who had lower dose treatments (given over fewer radiotherapy cycles) got cancer again in the affected breast. Leading researchers to say that lower doses could be preferable to many.
Why less?
Radiotherapy can effectively get rid of breast cancer tumours, but patients can suffer from tiredness, pain, redness and swelling. Sometimes the treatment can change skin tissue so that it can’t be stretched for re-constructive purposes. Other side effects include nerve damage and changes to the colour of skin. Lower doses of radiotherapy given over fewer sessions could reduce these side effects, making cancer treatment have less of a negative impact on wellness. Chief investigator for the survey Professor John Yarnold explains that three-weeks of radiotherapy can be as effective as five weeks, but may result in less pain and fewer hospital visits for breast cancer sufferers.
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