News on concurrent chemotherapy and radiation?

Page last modified on: January 4, 2010

Question from Jaqui: Was there any news about concurrent chemo and radiation?: Answer —Kathy Miller, M.D.: I didn't see anything new, but I did follow one small study that looked at that. This was a study done by investigators at Johns Hopkins who looked at concurrent radiation with dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy. This was a small study of only about 20 patients, but they found no increase in toxicity from the radiation, and that approach did allow patients to complete all of their treatments sooner. With such a small experience at only one institution, this isn't something that we could recommend to women right now, but I know the investigators hope to study this further in more patients and with other participating institutions. I would add because the study was so small and there was no comparison group, there is no way for this study to tell us if the combined approach was more effective.

On Tuesday, December 15, 2009, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Updates from the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Kathy Miller, M.D. and Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered your questions about the latest updates on breast cancer risk, screening techniques, treatment options, and more.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Kathy D. Miller, M.D. is associate professor of medical oncology at Indiana University, and a Sheila D. Ward Scholar.

Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a breast surgeon and clinical instructor at the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Surgery in Philadelphia, PA. She also maintains a practice in Cherry Hill, N.J. Dr. Brill is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, she has published breast cancer research in medical journals such as Annals of Plastic Surgery and Cancer, and she has presented research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.