In the August 20 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute a 10-year study reports that a woman with breast cancer who undergoes limited-field radiation after surgery has similar survival and recurrence rates as a woman who receives whole-breast radiation.

Frank Vicini M.D. states that limited-field radiation is appropriate therapy in a select group of patients namely those women with an early-stage cancer that has not spread to the lymph nodes and has a clearly defined tumor.

In an editorial in the NCI journal accompanying the study Dr. Paul Wallner the chief of radiation oncology at the National Cancer Institute and his colleagues recommend randomized trials before limited-field radiation therapy is widely used.