Study: More Women Need Radiation After Breast Cancer Surgery

Eighty three percent of women with breast cancer should receive radiation therapy following surgery, but the number of women who actually do is significantly lower, according to Australian researchers.

The researchers said their study found that both in Australia and elsewhere in the world, actual radiotherapy rates for breast cancer patients varied between 24 percent and 71 percent.

"A substantial difference was found between the recommended optimal utilization of radiotherapy based on evidence and the actual rates reported in clinical practice," the researchers reported in the journal Cancer.

Possible reasons for the low rate of patients undergoing radiation therapy include lack of access, inadequate referral, refusal of treatment by patients, or incorrect data, the researchers said.

"The implications of our findings are that we now have an estimate of the correct number of cancer patients who require radiation," Dr.Geoff Delaney of Liverpool Hospital in Sydney reported.

"This provides us with a way for planning radiation therapy services in a more reasonable fashion. It also allows us to assess the actual rates of radiotherapy use and to identify areas or specific cancer conditions where radiotherapy use could be improved," he added.

Other Sources: Cancer