Among women receiving radiation therapy to treat early-stage breast cancer, receiving larger individual doses was not associated with a significant increase in long-term side effects, according to a 10-year study presented Oct. 21 at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. This, the researchers noted, means patients may be able to undergo treatment less frequently.
“This study says it’s possible to find a regimen that would allow early-stage breast cancer patients to be treated only once a week over five weeks rather than daily over the same time period,” lead author Murray Brunt, MD, of University Hospitals of North Midlands and Keele University in the U.K., said in a prepared statement. “Findings should help doctors discuss risks and benefits with their patients for various courses of radiation therapy and inform shared decision-making between physicians and patients.”
“These results support treatment options that are more convenient for patients, resulting in fewer hospital visits and less expensive health services, without increasing the risk of long-term side effects,” senior statistician Joanne Haviland, of London’s Institute of Cancer Research, said in the same statement.
The FAST (FASTer radiotherapy for breast cancer patients) trial first enrolled more than 900 women with early-stage breast cancer in the U.K. from 2004 to 2007. Patients in the trial either received traditional radiation therapy (25 daily treatments at 2 Gray (Gy) of radiation each over five weeks), five weekly treatments at 5.7 Gy each or five weekly treatments of 6 Gy each.
Moderate or severe long-term effects to normal tissue “were low across all treatment groups,” according to the study. Late normal tissue effects were “not statistically different” between the conventional group and the group that received five weekly treatments at 5.7 Gy each. However patients who received the five weekly treatments at 6 Gy each were more likely to experience breast shrinkage, hardness or fluid build-up or “spider veins," the authors noted.
Results from the FAST trial were first published in Radiotherapy and Oncology in 2011. This update confirms that the primary finding is still true years later. The team is also already looking ahead to further research.
“As a next step, we want to investigate shortening the radiation therapy schedule to one week,” Brunt said in the same statement. “A schedule like this would have significant clinical and practical implications, such as allowing radiation therapy to be integrated more closely with surgery and other therapies.”
The ASTRO Annual Meeting is Oct. 21-24 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.