The Changing Role of Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer

Change in therapy has become the standard approach for the management of breast cancer in this multidisciplinary era. The role of radiation therapy is changing, as is the role of surgery. Radical mastectomy is no longer generally acceptable as the treatment of choice by surgeons, and routine postoperative radiation therapy is in dispute among radiation oncologists. With newer methods of detection and advances in adjuvant chemotherapy programs, a new literature is emerging and new approaches offering better survival results and better cosmesis are promised. Individualization, rather than standardization, marks the therapeutic effort in most cancer centers.