Despite the fear that can be felt with the term radiotherapy, the truth is that it is one of the most effective treatments in the fight against breast cancer. Radiotherapy treatments reduce the risk of expansion of breast cancer. Also, radiation therapy is a treatment used to treat breast cancer at almost any stage. A 80% of people with breast cancer, after surgery, use radiotherapy in their treatment. The Drs. Elia del Cerro and Ana Díaz Gavela, head of the Radiation Oncology Service at the Quirónsalud University Hospital in Madrid, talk about the evolution that has undergone radiotherapy in the last two decades. “Advances in the field of radiobiology have provided us with greater knowledge about the behavior of tumors and healthy organs when faced with radiation. The introduction of hypofractionated schemes and accelerated partial radiotherapy have allowed us to reduce treatments from the classic 25-30 sessions to 15 or even 5”, the specialists point out. In a study on the intensity modulated radiation therapy, presenting at the Congress of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), highlighted that this technique allows real-time treatment control, verifying its effectiveness. “Long-term oncological results are excellent with low probability of acute and chronic side effectsthus confirming the efficacy and safety of this treatment protocol”, explain the Doctors in an interview published in La Razón.
Postoperative radiotherapy treatments survival is higher than 95%
In recent years, advances in technology have generated a great change in the way of performing radiotherapy treatments. These advances have allowed reduce radiotherapy sessions in cancer patients. The side effects related to radiotherapy will depend on the location of the tumor and the radiation doses that the patients have received. Regarding patient survival, in recent years, an increase in results has been observed. “Regarding the particular results for tumors located at diagnosis and treated with conservative surgery, in postoperative radiotherapy survival is greater than 95%,” the specialists emphasize.
