title: Once-weekly hypofractionated breast irradiation: fool's gold or diamond in the rough?
abstract: Daily conventionally fractionated breast irradiation over 5-7 weeks is costly and inconvenient. Its use is associated with disparities in both the delivery of quality care and outcomes for vulnerable populations. Alternatively, daily hypofractionated breast irradiation delivered over 3 weeks exhibits equal efficacy and toxicity profiles. Today, a new generation of accelerated radiotherapy for breast cancer has emerged. Once-weekly hypofractionated breast irradiation has been tested in pilot and large randomized studies and the initial data appear promising. As the data mature, this new approach has implications for cost-efficacy and provision of radiotherapy services. The purpose of this review is to explore the evolution of once-weekly hypofractionated breast irradiation including our ongoing institutional clinical trial at the University of Louisville.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Louisville, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Parul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: Anthony E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Dragun
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: breast cancer; cost efficacy; healthcare disparities; hypofractionation; radiotherapy