Cancer patients who miss radiation treatments at high risk for relapse

Cancer patients who miss two or more radiation treatment sessions are at increased risk for a return of their cancer, a new study finds. The study included more than 1,200 patients who had radiation therapy for head and neck, breast, lung, cervical, uterine or rectal cancer between 2007 and 2012. Of those patients, 22 percent missed two or more scheduled radiation treatment appointments. While all patients eventually completed their radiation therapy regimens, they were prolonged an average of one week for those who missed two or more treatment sessions. Rates of cancer recurrence were 16 percent for patients who missed two or more radiation sessions and 7 percent for those who did not, according to the study published online recently in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics.