Radiation therapy appears to be a good choice for older women with early-stage breast cancer, according to a recent study published in Cancer. In fact, the retrospective, observational study found that women ages 70 to 79 reduced their risk of a follow-up mastectomy by two thirds if they received radiation therapy after their lumpectomy.
For the study, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston used Medicare-linked databases to identify 7,400 women between the ages of 70 and 79 who had undergone a lumpectomy between 1992 and 2002. Among these women, the overwhelming majority (6,484) had received radiation. Happily, a median follow-up of seven years showed that the women treated with radiation had a two-thirds reduced risk of mastectomy over the ensuing 10 years.
Although this is a retrospective, observational study it is rather robust in its statistical outcomes, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. While it s true that RT itself presents some risks, this study illustrates that there can be great net benefit from it.