Fewer High-Dose Radiation Treatments for Breast Cancer as Effective as Lower Doses

Breast cancer treatment can be grueling and can make for long days.

A new study shows higher doses of radiation given over fewer sessions was as effective as being given lower doses over more sessions.

According to Maria C.E. Jacobs, M.D., director of Radiation Oncology at Mercy, the findings are especially important because women are moms, sisters, caregivers, and have busy schedules, all while battling breast cancer.

Dr. Jacobs noted that patients had no other choice but to go in for radiation five days a week for about five to six weeks. But now, patients can get radiation to the whole breast in three weeks.

However, that has also changed, as radiation treatment can be narrowed down to a part of the breast, instead of the whole breast.

“In today's day, we can basically reduce that to one week of radiation treatments,” Dr. Jacobs said. “We can reduce that not only to a portion of the breast, but just a quadrant of the breast by doing something that, in the recent literature, has been called accelerated partial breast irradiation.”

Patients can achieve good local control by using this technique and experience less radiation side effects.

View Mercy radiation oncologist Dr. Maria Jacobs’ interview regarding minimizing the impact of breast cancer radiation.