Implicaciones de la pandemia en la radioterapia para el cáncer de mama. Omisión de la radioterapia

The current pandemic due to the new Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) requires the health systems to rapidly adopt measures aimed at mitigating the crisis, which implies redistributing economic and social resources and the workforce, so that those sectors of the population most affected can be cared for in an optimal and timely manner. In patients with low-risk invasive breast cancer and low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ, postoperative radiation therapy does not offer any benefit in overall survival, making the idea of omitting this oncological resource attractive. In this second article, we conducted a review of the literature on the criteria for omitting adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with low-risk breast neoplasms. In addition, the recommendations issued during the current contingency made by some international scientific societies are summarized, and certain reasons why physicians refuse to change clinical behaviors that offer limited advantages are analyzed, many times outweighed by the associated risks and adverse effects.