What is hypofraction radiation therapy of the breast?
Let me share with you some important thoughts on this subject.
Hypofraction radiation therapy of the breast means doing whole breast radiation therapy,
giving a little larger dose each day, and doing it over a much shorter time period.
Typical regular whole breast radiation therapy is done in five weeks and then often there
is one week of a boost therapy done after that.
Where hypofraction radiation therapy is concluded in three weeks and it can be done again with
or without the boost which generally adds another week.
The hypofraction radiation therapy has been very standard in way of treating breast conservation
cases in the Canada, UK, and other areas around the world and previously here at Breast Cancer
Answers, we have actually reported on outcome studies that show that hypofraction radiation
therapy is equally as effective as whole breast radiation therapy whether you do the boost
therapy or not.
The cosmetic results are the same and of course the time is shortened considerably when it’s
down to three weeks of the whole breast radiation therapy.
Now, an important study was published near the end of 2014 in the Journal of the American
Medical Association on this very subject of hypofraction radiation therapy.
It came from the Department of Radiation Oncology of the University of Pennsylvania.
They looked at 14 health plans from around the United States and looked at the category
of patients who are typically eligible for hypofraction radiation therapy.
This includes women who are age 50 or older.
No history of chemotherapy and typically smaller breast of A-cup, B-cup small or C-cup size
breast.
In this study, they also looked at women who may have had prior chemotherapy and who are
under age 50.
Now, the results I thought were quite surprising and for me at least disappointing.
Between 2008 and 2013 of all the women who could have had whole breast radiation therapy
and met the typical character in fact only 35% of that received hypofraction therapy
and in the group that was pushing the envelope a little bit were there have been prior chemotherapy
in under age 50, it was only around 21%.
I find this disappointing because let's face it.
Hypofraction radiation therapy is more convenient.
There is a less of a treatment burden for the patient.
Actually, the costs of doing it are lower and yet we find that there is such a little
adoption of this in the United States.
If you are patient who has had a lumpectomy, you meet the typical criteria of being 50-year-old
and not having had chemotherapy and you are smaller breast size, you should be asking
the radiation oncologist if you are going to be receiving hypofraction radiation therapy.
It is equally as effective, a shorter time period and lower cost.