A new radiation treatment for breast cancer is becoming increasingly popular despite lack of good evidence, at least among well-insured Medicare patients, U.S. researchers say.
According to claims data, use of the therapy, which irradiates only a portion of the breast instead of standard whole-breast radiation after lumpectomy, climbed more than 10-fold for those patients between 2001 and 2006.
While gold-standard clinical trials of the newer treatment are still missing, two other events did coincide with steep increases in its use: approval of a device used to deliver the radiation in 2002 and Medicare reimbursement in 2004.
