Radiation treatment after surgery for breast cancer significantly lowers the risk that the disease will recur in the breast or spread lethally to other parts of the body over the following 10 to 15 years, researchers say.
The new findings mean radiation prevents recurrences for a longer time and saves more lives than was generally recognized, said Sarah Darby, a professor of medical statistics at the University of Oxford and an author of the report.
These results, reported Wednesday in the British journal The Lancet, are based on an analysis of 17 studies involving 10,801 women in Europe, Canada and the United States.
The theory behind giving radiation after surgery for breast cancer is to kill any stray cancer cells that may have been left behind and to prevent them from growing into another tumor or spreading to vital organs. But studies were needed to find out whether the theory held up, especially since radiation has side effects. The New York Times
