Has Hypofractionated Whole-Breast Radiation Therapy Become the Standard of Care in the United States? An Updated Report from National Cancer Database

Abstract

Introduction/BackgroundWe aimed to update the previous evaluation of hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation (HF-WBI) use over time in the United States and factors related to its adoption for patients undergoing a lumpectomy from 2004 to 2016. Materials and MethodsAmong the patients who underwent a lumpectomy, we identified 688,079 patients with early-stage invasive breast cancer and 248,218 patients with ductal carcinoma in situ in the National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2016. We defined HF-WBI as 2.5 to 3.33 Gy/fraction to the breast and conventional fractionated whole-breast irradiation as 1.8 to 2.0 Gy/fraction. We evaluated the trend of HF-WBI use and examined factors associated with HF-WBI use using logistic regression models. ResultsAmong invasive cancer patients, the use of HF-WBI increased exponentially from 0.7% in 2004 to 15.6% in 2013 and then to 38.1% in 2016. Among patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, the use of HF-WBI has increased significantly from 0.42% in 2004 to 13.4% in 2013 and then to 34.3% in 2016. Factors found to be associated with HF-WBI use included age, patient geographical location, race/ethnicity, tumor stage, grade, treating facility type, and volume. ConclusionHF-WBI use in the United States has more than doubled from 2013 to 2016. Although its use is close to that of conventional fractionated whole-breast irradiation, HF-WBI is still far from the preferred standard of care in the United States. We identified several patient and facility factors that can impact the uptake of HF-WBI treatment.MicroabstractUsing the National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2016, we evaluated the trend of hypofractionated whole-breast radiation therapy use and factors associated with use. Use in the United States has more than doubled from 2013 to 2016, but it has not become the standard of care. We identified several patient and facility factors that impact the uptake of hypofractionated whole-breast radiation therapy treatment.