Reducing the Human Burden of Breast Cancer: Advanced Radiation Therapy Yields Improved Treatment Outcomes

Abstract

Radiation therapy is an important modality in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. While its efficacy in the treatment of breast cancer was known shortly after the discovery of x-rays, significant advances in radiation delivery over the past 20 years have resulted in improved patient outcomes. With the development of improved systemic therapy, optimizing local control has become increasingly important and has been shown to improve survival. Better understanding of the magnitude of treatment benefit, as well as patient and biological factors that confer an increased recurrence risk, have allowed radiation oncologists to better tailor treatment decisions to individual patients. Furthermore, significant technological advances have occurred that have reduced the acute and long-term toxicity of radiation treatment. These advances continue to reduce the human burden of breast cancer. It is important for radiation oncologists and nonradiation oncologists to understand these advances, so that patients are appropriately educated about the risks and benefits of this important treatment modality.

Survival Comparisons Between Early Male and Female Breast Cancer Patients

“…It might be involved in that peculiar anatomy of the male mammary included less fat tissue, and the proposed ‘gas station’ effects of fat tissue on residual carcinoma cell will be cut 40 . Furthermore, we observed that the better prognosis was acquired when accepting radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy compared with those without adjuvant therapies, and consistent benefits were identified regardless of early or advanced BC 41 , 42 . Moreover, a recent study examined the effect of target-adjuvant drugs like mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors on subsets of MBC who was identified by transcriptomic investigation 43 , expectedly, and more practicable treatments will be utilized for MBC to improve prognosis.…”