Landmark Study Questions Necessity of Radiation for Many Early Breast Cancer Patients
November 7, 2025 – A major clinical trial is challenging decades of standard practice, suggesting that radiation therapy may be needless for a meaningful number of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Published today in The New England Journal of medicine, the research indicates that ten-year survival rates remain comparable when radiation is omitted in carefully selected patients following mastectomy. The findings, accompanied by reporting in The New York Times, are prompting oncologists too re-evaluate treatment protocols and could spare countless women from the side effects associated with radiation.
The study, registered as ISRCTN61145589, analyzed outcomes for patients over a ten-year period, revealing no significant difference in survival rates between those who received post-mastectomy chest-wall irradiation and those who did not. This revelation has the potential to dramatically alter the treatment landscape for early breast cancer,impacting an estimated hundreds of thousands of women diagnosed annually. Experts predict a shift towards more personalized treatment plans, prioritizing radiation only for patients at higher risk of recurrence.
Researchers led by Kunkler, I., et al. followed patients who underwent mastectomy and found that omitting radiation did not compromise long-term survival. The study’s findings are particularly relevant for women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and no lymph node involvement, a common profile among those diagnosed early.
“These results suggest we might potentially be able to avoid radiation in a substantial proportion of women with early breast cancer without compromising their chances of survival,” stated Rabin RC in The New York Times. The article details how the research is fueling a debate about overtreatment in breast cancer and the importance of shared decision-making between patients and their doctors.
The study’s publication is expected to accelerate the adoption of genomic testing and other risk assessment tools to identify patients who can safely forgo radiation. Further research is underway to refine these selection criteria and optimize individualized treatment strategies.
