Radiotherapy given immediately after surgery has stopped breast cancer returning in the same place up to 10 years following treatment, a long-term study suggests. Yet after a decade, their risks of recurrence are equivalent to those who never had radiotherapy. (As for metastasis risk?) It is another key step in providing the clearest possible evidence as to what are the long-term benefits radiotherapy can bring for breast cancer surgery.
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The standard treatment for women with early-stage breast cancer is to undergo surgery and then radiotherapy. This therapy is focused intensely on the exposed chest to wipe out any surviving cancer cells after having already removed a tumor.
The University of Edinburgh's Scottish Breast Conservation Trial reviewed records from 585 women with early-stage breast cancer in Scotland. Radiotherapy was given to one half of the participants; The other half did not receive radiotherapy. The mean follow-up was 18 years, with some patients being tracked for more than three decades. Ten years later, 16% of the women who had radiotherapy suffered a local relapse compared with 36 % in their radiation-free counterparts.
Radiotherapy did not improve survival, though radiation decreased the rate of cancer returning. At 30 years, the mean OS from all causes was almost identical in both groups at 19.2 and 18.7 years among those who had turned-sick patients postoperatively received radiotherapy or not)( BotRFewer breast cancer-related deaths Breast cancer-specific mortality was lower in patients receiving radiotherapy (37% vs 46%). There were, however, more deaths from other cancers in the radiotherapy group vs control (20% versus 11%, respectively).
However, because patients with early-stage breast cancer live longer thanks to better imaging and treatments, the long term effects of radiotherapy are increasingly important. ** experts stressed that it is crucial to understand this as advancements in detecting the disease earlier improves survival_probabilities_p_forming a group_SEPARATOR_but often leads_to_arthristis_HALFLIFE too. The research, published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, was a collaboration between researchers from the Usher Institute and Institute of Genetics & Cancer; Public Health Scotland; Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow; and Western General Hospital Edinburgh.
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Lead author Dr Linda Williams, from the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This 30-year study is believed to be one with longest follow-up data for postoperative radiotherapy treatment in early-stage breast cancer. Further 10-year and longer-term follow-up of studies like this is critical to get a complete view on the long term risks benefits profile.
Lead author Professor Ian Kunkler, of the University of Edinburgh's Institute of Genetics and Cancer said: "Our study indicates that radiotherapy can reduce the rate at which a cancer recurs in the same breast within 10 years. Say researchers: this justifies further use of radiotherapy with breast-conserving surgery for the majority of patients with early-stage breast cancer. But the advantage of radiotherapy lasts only as long as other anti-cancer treatments -- that is, not forever.
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