Conventional and Hypofractionated Radiotherapy Produce Similar Outcomes in Breast Cancer

New research suggests that hypofractionated radiotherapy and conventional fractionated radiotherapy largely produce similar outcomes in patients who have undergone breast cancer surgery.

The data showed that recurrence, survival, and toxicity outcomes were generally similar with these treatments. However, hypofractionated radiotherapy was associated with reductions in skin toxicity and fatigue.

These results, from a systematic review and meta-analysis, were published in BMC Cancer.

The meta-analysis included data from 18,246 patients with breast cancer who participated in 35 studies (13 randomized controlled trials and 22 retrospective studies). The patients received hypofractionated radiotherapy (defined as 2 to 5 Gy per day) or conventional fractionated radiotherapy (defined as less than 2 Gy per day).

The pooled data showed that recurrence and survival outcomes were similar between the hypofractionated and fractionated groups. There was no significant difference in local recurrence (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% CI, 0.76-1.09; P =.30), disease-free survival (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01-1.42; P =.03), or overall survival (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.93-1.26; P =.28) between the treatment types.

However, the likelihood of skin toxicity was lower with hypofractionated radiotherapy than with fractionated radiotherapy (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.33-0.55; P <.01). This included radiation dermatitis (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.22-0.58; P <.001) and grade 2 or higher skin toxicities (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30-0.59; P <.01).

In addition, patients treated with hypofractionated radiotherapy were less likely to experience fatigue (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.60-0.88; P <.01).

Other toxicities were similar between the groups, including breast pain, atrophy, lymphedema, pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, telangiectasia, and cardiotoxicity.

“The findings of our investigation indicate that among breast cancer patients who have undergone surgery, both HF [hypofractionated] and CF [conventional fractionated] treatment regimens produce consistent outcomes,” the researchers concluded. “Furthermore, both treatments can be deemed to be generally safe.”

This article originally appeared on Cancer Therapy Advisor