Journey to hypofractionation in radiotherapy for breast cancer: critical reviews for recent updates

Abstract

Historical conventional fractionated radiation therapy (RT) for breast cancer consisted of 1.8–2.0 Gy per fraction with a total dose of 45–60 Gy over 5–7 weeks. Based on radiobiological characteristics, a low α/β is suspected of breast cancer resulting in sensitivity to higher dose per fraction (2.5–3.0 Gy). Over the past 10 years, multiple clinical trials support the application of shorter treatment regimen with hypofractionated RT (HypoRT). Recently, ultra-HypoRT with 5 fractions showed favorable outcomes. Although the safety and efficacy of HypoRT has been supported by high-quality randomized trials, there are still some worries and doubts around HypoRT from radiation oncologists. However, the radiation oncology community have now reached an important timepoint for adopting HypoRT during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of HypoRT in breast cancer based on prospective randomized trials and discuss the special consideration regarding HypoRT.