MedWire News: Women with early breast cancer could benefit from fewer radiotherapy treatments with less side effects if they are given higher doses, research suggests.

The higher dose radiotherapy regimens, known as hypofractionation, would allow women to make fewer hospital visits, if universally adopted, says the research team.

Some UK cancer specialists already use the higher dose treatment plans, but the current results provide more evidence to support the practice.

The findings, published in the Lancet and the Lancet Oncology, are based on two high-profile studies - called START trials - which looked at nearly 4500 women who had had surgery for early breast cancer.

About half of the patients were given the standard international radiotherapy schedule - a total of 25 treatments, given over 5 weeks.

The others were given only 13 to 15 treatments but at radiotherapy doses (fractions) about one and a half times as intense as the standard.

Over the next 5 to 6 years, a similarly small proportion of patients relapsed with either treatment.

Long-term changes in breast appearance - a possible side effect of radiotherapy - were actually lower with the new than the standard radiotherapy schedule.

The researchers say the new radiotherapy schedules appear to be "at least as good as the accepted international standard".

However, Dr Harry Bartelink (Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam) and Dr Rodrigo Arriagada (InstitutGustaveRoussy, Villejuif, France) say more research is still needed.

They wrote in an accompanying comment: "We realise that 'hypofractionation' is convenient for patients, because it reduces the number of visits to radiotherapy departments and waiting lists in several cancer centres.

"Nevertheless we have to wait for data on longer follow-up before final conclusions can be drawn from the START trials."