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In the first study evaluating patient-reported cosmetic outcomes in older women with breast cancer, MD Anderson researchers found that less radiation was associated with improved cosmetic satisfaction long-term. However, reduced radiation was also associated with a slightly increased risk of disease recurrence.

Like younger patients, older women with early-stage breast cancer have a number of treatment options, including: lumpectomy and whole breast irradiation, lumpectomy plus brachytherapy, lumpectomy alone, mastectomy without radiation, and mastectomy plus radiation. However, cosmetic and other quality-of-life outcomes associated with these treatments have not been compared in this age population.

¡°There¡¯s very little in the literature about how older patients report their outcomes ¨C either they were not included in previous studies, or were not asked about their cosmetic satisfaction. With our study, we wanted to survey women to better understand their long-term cosmetic satisfaction, and compare satisfaction across local therapy strategies,¡± says Cameron Swanick, a Radiation Oncology resident who led the trial.

The study builds on research published in 2012 by ., which found that accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) brachytherapy is associated with a higher rate of later mastectomy, increased radiation-related toxicities and post-operative complications, compared to traditional whole-breast irradiation.

¡°We need treatment that is gentler than whole breast radiation, but provides broader of coverage than brachytherapy,¡± says Smith. ¡°There are plenty of hints in the literature that indicate there¡¯s a happy medium in between these two treatments, and that¡¯s probably the sweet spot for many breast cancer patients.¡±