Radiotherapy plus chemotherapy improves survival in breast cancer

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that adding radiotherapy to chemotherapy and surgery gives the best outcome in patients with high risk breast cancer.
Researchers in Canada report upon a 20 year follow up which looks at how adding localized radiation therapy helps women with high-risk breast cancer. The 318 women, who had already had a radical mastectomy and chemotherapy afterwards, either did, or did not, have radiotherapy in addition. At 15 years, radiation therapy was found to be associated with better breast cancer survival, but not better overall survival.

At 20 years, radiation therapy has been found to be linked to a 32 per cent reduction in breast cancer mortality and a 27 per cent reduction in overall mortality. And long-term toxic effects were few and not unacceptable to the patients. What remains unclear is how the addition of radiotherapy would affect the outcome for patients with a more moderate risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Source
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 19th January 2005 Volume 97 pages 116-126