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Experimental tests may yield options in breast cancer treatment

Updated: 2009-11-04 22:33:56 CST Category: Breast

by Brendan Missett

Experimental tests may yield options in breast cancer treatment
Testing of shorter, more intense regimens of whole-breast radiation shows the method is as effective as traditional, longer treatments in early-stage breast cancer, according to recent research.

A study lead by Dr Manjeet Chadha, associate chair of oncology at Beth Israel Medical Center, sought to verify whether doctors may alter the duration or volume of radiation therapy with successful results, HealthDay News reports.

As part of the ongoing research, Chadha tracked 122 patients with early-stage breast cancer who underwent lumpectomies followed by the accelerated treatment for about three years after they received the therapy. The health expert noted zero relapse and a three-year survival rate of about 95 percent.

As part of the experimental three-week treatment, a woman receives radiation to the entire affected breast, and then receives and extra dose of radiation at the site from which the tumor was removed.

"This concept of a shorter length of treatment is gaining acceptance," Chadha told the news source. "It sounds encouraging."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available, a total of 41,116 women and 375 men died from breast cancer.

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