Worldwide, breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women. Approximately 1.4 million new cases are diagnosed each year. One of the effective treatments is radiation therapy. In addition to being effective, radiation therapy reduces the risk of cancer recurrence.
Breast cancer accounts for 10.9% of all cancers. The incidence of breast cancer is variable, with high rates in developed countries. Developing countries have lower incidence rates. However, the incidence of breast cancer is increasing in most developing countries.
Breast cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide (the number of deaths in 2008 was about 458,000 worldwide). Breast cancer is responsible for approximately 20% of deaths from malignant neoplasms in Europe. In many developed countries, breast cancer mortality has decreased significantly over the past 20 years, due to both the advent of new drugs (chemotherapeutic and biotherapeutic agents) and improved screening and early detection of tumors.
During her lifetime, one in 8 -10 women will develop breast cancer.
In Germany, the number of newly detected cases of breast cancer was 58,000. This means that there are 130 cases per 100,000 population. Breast cancer accounts for 28% of all new cancer cases and is the most common form of cancer in women in Germany.
Men are also included in the statistics — they are not spared by the disease, which is considered to be “typically female”. About 400 cases of male breast cancer are registered in Germany every year.
The mortality rate is 42 per 100,000 women. Mortality is largely determined by the stage of the disease, with about 30% of patients dying from the disease at all stages. Thus, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women between 30 and 60 years of age.
If the tumor is detected at an early stage, you can expect a 90% chance of a full recovery.
The choice of rational and adequate treatment of breast cancer is very difficult. This is due to the extraordinary variety of variants of the clinical manifestation and course of the disease and, consequently. We need to consider many factors when planning treatment, any of which can be decisive in the prognosis of the disease and the fate of the woman.
Breast cancer
Extended radiation reduces the risk of recurrence!
In two studies, women with early-stage breast cancer received conventional radiation therapy that was limited to the breast. Or additionally, the lymphatic tract was irradiated.
Many patients with early-stage breast cancer benefit from extended radiation therapy in which nearby lymph nodes are also irradiated, reports the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO). Such extended irradiation reduces the risk of subsequent recurrence in the long-term prognosis.
In early-stage breast cancer, breast conservation is usually the goal. If one or more lymph nodes are affected by the tumor, in addition to radiation, patients almost always receive supportive chemotherapy, sometimes hormone therapy or a combination of both, DEGRO recalls.
Breast radiation after surgery is designed to prevent cancer recurrence. It is radiation therapy that made breast-conserving surgery possible.
If cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes or there is a high risk of this, radiation therapy can be extended to the lymph nodes. Two studies have already shown that extended radiation therapy is correct and important.
After ten years: clear benefits of an extended irradiation strategy.
Two studies, in North America and Europe, involved more than 5,000 women with early-stage breast cancer, most of whom had breast-conserving surgery.
In the European study, only some women received adjuvant chemotherapy; however, in the North American study, all the women received it.
Some women then received conventional radiation therapy, which was limited to radiation to the breast. In others, the lymphatic tract was irradiated in addition to the area in the immediate vicinity of the breast, at the transition to the armpit and behind the sternum, which also includes the area above the clavicle.
The treatment was done back in the 1990s and 2000s. After ten years of treatment, there were clear benefits of the extended radiation strategy: in both studies, the proportion of patients who remained alive and without tumor recurrence increased by several percents.
Both studies showed a trend toward better survival after extended radiotherapy.
Even women whose lymph nodes were free of cancer cells but who had particularly aggressive or large tumors benefited from extended radiation therapy.
These patients had an increased risk of metastases. Radiation equipment has been improved over the past two decades, and radiation is more targeted and sparing. In addition, more effective drugs are used today. Overall, the situation for breast cancer patients is constantly improving.
The chances of survival for patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to two studies, were more than 80 percent. In the women we treat today, the survival and survival rates are likely to increase even further.
Treatment of breast cancer is best entrusted to a clinic that has accumulated experience in the therapy of this disease or has the appropriate specialization. In Germany, clinics that operate on at least 150 breast cancer patients annually and administer at least 800 courses of chemotherapy can apply to the relevant authorities to be renamed “Breast Centers” — centers for the treatment of breast diseases. Doctors at such centers must perform at least 50 surgeries to remove tumors each year. If the clinic has received the right to be called so, it is a signal to the patient that there is sufficient experience here. Moreover, clinic centers should be regularly certified. These are the centers of choice for patients who need breast cancer treatment.
If you require diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in Germany, send us a request by filling out the form, e-mail us or order a call, and we will call you back.