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QUESTION: In women with early breast cancer, what are the long term (20 y) effects of radiotherapy on mortality from breast cancer and on mortality from causes other than breast cancer?
Data sources
Studies were identified by searching published lists of randomised trials and Medline; handsearching selected journals, meeting abstracts, and references of published trials and reviews; and by contacting experts repeatedly over a 15 year period.
Study selection
Studies were selected if they were randomised controlled trials begun before 1990 that compared radiotherapy plus other treatments with the same treatments without radiotherapy.
Data extraction
Information was requested for each woman on age; menopausal status; type of surgery and nodal status; and dates of randomisation, allocated treatment, first subsequent local recurrence, and death.
Main results
Data from 19 582 women were assembled from 40 …