The less time that women wait for radiotherapy, the lower the risk of recurrent problems after breast cancer surgery. This is the conclusion of scientists stated on Wednesday, in a new study, according to the British Medical Journal. Their conclusions may pressure medical services to minimize waiting times.

An international team of researchers analyzed links involving waiting times and recurrence of breast cancer after breast cancer surgery. They suggest the best choice is to start the treatment as soon as possible. With 16% of all female cancers, breast cancer became the most common cancer among women, and the cost of improving capacity might be substantial in order to make possible uniformly and generally short waiting times.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute from Boston represented by Rinaa Punglia analyzed over 18,000 records of persons who were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.

The conclusion was that beginning radiotherapy more than 6 weeks after surgery is associated with a small but significant increase in tumor recurrence. About 30% of the persons began radiotherapy after 6 weeks, and tumors returned in 4% of them at 5 years.

Breast cancer kills over 500,000 women worldwide each year. According with the World Health Organization, survival rates fluctuate from 40% in some low-income countries to over 80% in some developed countries, including the United States. The evidence on the influence of waiting time had been uncertain, but the scientists mentioned 4 to 6 weeks as a reasonable period between surgery and radiotherapy.