Intense radiation called effective

Intense radiation therapy for three weeks after surgery for early breast cancer keeps the disease at bay just as well as lower doses for five weeks, a study found.

More than 1,200 women were treated with either the accelerated three-week dose of radiation or the standard five-week therapy, then tracked for recurrences for up to 12 years.

The cancer returned to the same breast a decade after treatment in 6.2% of those treated for three weeks and 6.7% of those getting standard therapy, according to the study presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Boston.