In addition, radiation specialist is not necessary for some women who had a mastectomy

After mastectomy, patients with breast cancer treated with radiotherapy in the lymph nodes behind the breastbone and the gap does not live longer than those not receiving radiation, hard to treat area, presented in a randomized 10-year study at the meeting, November 2, 2009 to the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)

Breast cancer, which is located in an internal, central location in the breast area and larger tumors that have spread to lymph nodes in the armpit removed (axillary) and just above the collarbone (supra ), rather the spread of the internal mammary lymph nodes behind the breastbone.

The type of external beam radiation treament used to treat these patients is radiation or internal mammary chain IMC-RT. It is a challenge dose of radiation to the internal mammary chain of supply, because it is difficult to define the exact position and protect vital organs like the heart and lungs.

"This is the first study that the important question of whether radiation beneficial for answers chain internal mammary lymph nodes in these patients after 10 years of follow up, Pascale Romestaing, MD, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Center for Radiotherapy Mermoz, Lyon, France said. "Our results clearly show that there is no impact on overall survival. These women have greater exposure - but not the additional radiation to these specialized cells."

During external beam radiation, a beam (or several beams) of radiation is directed through the skin around the tumor and the immediate environment in order to destroy the main tumor and any nearby cancer cells. The treatment is ambulatory and most often painless, similar to that in which an X-ray.

The multicenter, randomized enrolled 1334 women with stage 1 or 2 new cancer who underwent mastectomy or surgery to remove a breast diagnosed. Patients had either the cancer had spread, axillary lymph nodes or their tumor of origin was an internal, central location in the breast area. While all patients were randomized to received radiation to the chest wall and lymph nodes supraclavicular, half the patients also received radiation specialist BMI are treated.

After 10 years, researchers found no significant difference in survival between the group that received IMC-irradiation (63 percent) and those without (60 percent). The study also found no difference in survival of patients in the study, analysis by subgroups. These groups understand that their cancer to the lymph nodes, where her original tumor was located had spread, and if they have undergone chemotherapy or hormone therapy at the same time, she had radiotherapy.