Posted on 11/20/2022 7:58:50 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery in conjunction with chemotherapy or tamoxifen to treat early breast cancer reduces the risk of the disease returning in the same breast in the next ten years, but makes little difference to that risk thereafter, nor does it improve overall survival after 30 years.
The Scottish breast conservation trial followed 585 patients aged 70 or younger for 30 years.
Ten years after radiotherapy, recurrence of the disease in the same breast (known as "locoregional recurrence" or "ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence") was significantly reduced by more than 60% in the women who had been randomized to receive radiotherapy compared to those who had not. However, after the first ten years, the annual risk of a recurrence was similar in both groups, as was overall survival: 30 years after their treatment, 24% of women who had radiotherapy were still alive compared to 27.5% of those who did not.
Prof. Kunkler said, "We found that there is no long-term improvement in overall survival for those women having radiotherapy. This may be because although radiotherapy may help to prevent some breast cancer deaths, it may also cause a few more deaths, particularly a long time after the radiotherapy, from other causes such as heart and blood vessel diseases. The benefits of having radiotherapy in terms of fewer local recurrences are only accrued over the first ten years after radiotherapy; thereafter, the rate of local recurrence is similar whether or not patients had radiotherapy.
"It's important to note that every woman with breast cancer is different and will have different forms of the disease. Decisions about whether or not to have radiotherapy after surgery should be taken by patients and their doctors after careful discussion."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I think this is the wrong takeaway.
Yes - it HELPS with 10 years prognosis’ (most cancer doctors consider yourself cancer cured if it stays in remission for 5 years and this help with that)
But long term depends on the chemo.
Hormone receptor positive and HER2- cancer is the only candidate for lumpectomy/radiation without chemo followed by estrogen inhibiting oral drugs for 5-10 years. Unfortunately, HR+ cancer is notorious for returning beyond 10 years.
I knew someone who was diagnosed with breast cancer, immediately had top surgery and is alive with no complications 30+ years later.
no drugs, no radiation no chemo.
The medical industrial complex will bury this study. Too much profit in using radiation for treating all the breast cancers....”in the abundance of caution” that they might return. We already over-diagnose breast cancer in this country thanks to mammograms....which have not lowered mortality. I am not totally anti-medicine but just wary. There have been treatment advances that have lowered mortality however.
Currently....radiation Therapy (XRT) for 6.5wks to ipsilateral breast area, typically begins 2-4wks after surgery after it is surgically removed in the majority of women in the USA.
They are told that women who undergo lumpectomy by itself have a breast cancer recurrence rate of up to 40%, whereas the rate of recurrence is <10% with appropriate radiotherapy. Thus post-op XRT is generally part of primary treatment in all <70yo. Radiation to your chest is not benign. Would you do it knowing that it does not prolong your life...rather it just reduces new tumors from popping up locally (which would be picked up on your yearly mammo before symptoms) .....that could then go on the be excised.
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