Radiation may be unnecessary as an early-stage breast cancer treatment

More than half of breast cancer patients receive radiation as part of their treatment, but it may not help those with early-stage cancer, new research shows.

Women who received a radiation course after a mastectomy essentially had the same survival rate at those who did not receive radiation, a study of 1,600 women from 17 countries found. Both groups also had lymph nodes removed and received anti-cancer drugs as part of their treatment.

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After 10 years, 81.4% of the women who received were still alive compared to 81.9% of those who did not receive radiation.

For many women with breast cancer, it might be worth avoiding radiation, the findings suggest. Doing so could reduce the burden of treatment and potential side effects including skin changes, fatigue and fibrosis. The research was published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

"We've now shown that with contemporary anti-cancer treatments, the risk of recurrence is very, very low — sufficiently low to avoid radiotherapy in most patients," Dr. Ian Kunkler, the study's lead investigator, told the New York Times.

The study included only women with early-stage breast cancer. Radiation may still be an effective and necessary treatment for people with more aggressive breast cancers, the researchers said.

Radiation, typically using high-powered X-rays, has been part of the standard treatment for breast cancer since the 1980s. It is aimed at lowering the risk of the cancer returning.

The goal of the new study was to see if radiation actually is needed for women diagnosed at "intermediate risk," which means their cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or involves more aggressive tumors but no lymph nodes.

Kunkler told the New York Times that the study supports a growing "trend" of moving away from radiation for lower-risk groups with breast cancer.