Radiation Oncologists’ Views on Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer in the Elderly: Comparisons between Japan and the United States

Abstract

Purpose To understand perspective on breast cancer using a survey. Materials & Methods Questionnaire was distributed to 304 Japanese radiation oncologists (RadOncs) (response rate: 64.1%). Result was compared with a similar US survey. Results In a scenario with an 81-year-old patient with comorbidities, while most US RadOncs chose to tell that radiation might not be necessary, 2% of Japanese chose it. In a scenario with a healthy 65-year-old breast cancer patient with lumpectomy, while most US RadOncs chose to discuss omission of radiation, 24.5% of Japanese chose it. Conclusions Differences were observed on radiotherapy for older early-stage breast cancer.