Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine have published a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology demonstrating that many older women with early stage breast cancer are receiving adjuvant radiotherapy treatment even though oncology treatment guidelines say it's not needed.
Specifically, researchers found that about three out of every four women aged 70 or older with stage I breast cancer were receiving adjuvant radiotherapy treatment after standard breast-conserving surgery.
This is occurring despite the dearth of evidence that such therapy extends the lives of these patients. In fact, there are few benefits to the treatment in the face of several complications, minor though they may be.
Those complications include:
-- Skin irritation
-- Cardiovascular problems (rare)
-- Respiratory problems (also rare)
-- Simply finding transportation to frequent radiation appointments
The cost of the treatment runs in the range of about $7,000, which in these patients is typically paid for by Medicare, raising the possibility that this patient population is being over-treated in this regard by doctors for financial gain -- something that is hardly unheard-of.
Researchers suggested that these patients or their advocates or caregivers should press their doctors as to why they are ordering radiation and whether or not it is really necessary.
Source: Reuters
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