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Study of a Shortened Radiation Therapy Schedule in Patients with Breast Cancer, the FAST-R Trial

Trial Status: closed to accrual

This early phase I trial is to find out the side effects and possible benefits of providing radiation on a shortened (compressed) schedule of 5 days in a row in preventing cancer from coming back in patients with invasive stage IIA-IIIA breast cancer who have undergone surgery to remove the breast or as much of the breast tissue as possible. (mastectomy). A standard schedule of radiation after mastectomy is 16-25 days. Undergoing a compressed schedule may decrease the amount of time patients must spend in the clinic for radiation treatments and reduce the disruption in patients’ routine activities (such as employment or childcare) that can occur with a long course of treatment. This trial may help the researchers learn whether the compressed 5-day schedule is better than, the same as, or worse than the standard 16-25 day schedule.