Long radiation treatments faulted in many Breast Cancer cases

Two-thirds of women who have lumpectomies for breast cancer are receiving radiation treatment that lasts nearly twice as long as necessary, a new study reports.

The conventional, longer treatment lasts five to seven weeks. But four rigorous studies and guidelines from a leading radiology society conclude that three to four weeks of more intense radiation is just as effective.

Women overwhelmingly prefer the shorter course of radiation, studies have found. It is also less expensive.

Even though 60 to 75 percent of women with breast cancer have lumpectomies — a total of about 140,000 to 160,000 women — doctors and health insurers say relatively few are receiving the shorter treatment because it takes time to change ingrained medical practices, especially when a procedure has been used for decades and the new one offers no additional medical benefit. Its advantages are saving time for patients, and money for the health care system and insurers.

“If a physician is doing five to seven weeks of radiation for 25 years, particularly if the physician is not a specialist and not in an academic medical center, you will be a bit leery about going to something new,” said Dr. Bruce G. Haffty, a professor and chairman of the department of radiation oncology at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. “You are comfortable with the outcomes, patients are satisfied. Now you’ve got something that perhaps costs a bit less, but you wonder: Is it as effective?”