Radiotherapy optional for older breast cancer patients, study suggests

The findings could help doctors decide whether or not radiotherapy, which has many side effects, is the right choice for patients.

Radiotherapy was also found to not affect the risk of secondary tumours, known as metastases (Yui Mok/PA)

Radiotherapy does not improve survival rates in older patients with early breast cancer, a new study has suggested.

Radiotherapy – a treatment where radiation is used to kill cancer cells – alongside breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) and hormone therapy (the current standard treatment) made no difference to the death rates for patients aged 65 or older, the research found.