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Three weeks of radiotherapy, or five days? The trial that just passed 1,000 patients

Qurexa Editorial Team30 October 20267 min read 0 0
Three weeks of radiotherapy, or five days? The trial that just passed 1,000 patients

What happened

On 30 October 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that more than 1,000 people have now joined a trial called FAST-Forward Boost. The trial is testing a simple question. At the moment, many people with breast cancer have radiotherapy spread over about three weeks. That is around 15 hospital visits. The trial is testing whether the same treatment can be given safely in just five days instead. The five-day version also includes an extra, targeted dose called a 'boost'. A boost is a slightly stronger dose aimed at the exact spot where the cancer was removed. It is used to lower the chance of the cancer coming back in that area. The trial is led by The Institute of Cancer Research in London and paid for by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The government says it is running at 39 hospitals across the UK, including The Royal Marsden in London and Sutton, Addenbrooke's in Cambridge, The Christie in Manchester and the Queen Elizabeth in Birmingham. It is a big study. The aim is to recruit 4,830 people by 2028. Everyone who takes part is then followed up for five years, so the full results are not expected until 2033. The same announcement included two other things. Ashley Dalton MP, the Labour MP for West Lancashire, has been appointed as an adviser on delivering the National Cancer Plan. And new figures show that 63.6% of women took up their first invitation to breast screening, the highest level in the past decade.

Why this matters

Ten fewer hospital visits does not sound like a medical breakthrough. For the person having the treatment, it can be an enormous one. Radiotherapy appointments are not usually long. The problem is that they come one after another, day after day, for weeks. Each one means getting there and getting home. For many people that means arranging a lift, paying for parking or fuel, or taking a bus. It can mean booking time off work, or finding someone to collect the children. If five days can do the job of fifteen, that is ten rounds of all of that, removed. The government also points out that it frees up NHS capacity. Radiotherapy machines are expensive and there are only so many of them. If each patient needs fewer sessions, more patients can be treated on the same equipment. The screening figure matters for a different reason. Around four in ten women invited for breast screening for the first time do not attend. Rachael Franklin, Deputy Chief Executive of the charity Breast Cancer Now, said around 30% of female breast cancers in England are found through screening. She also gave the figure that explains why people keep pushing this point. Breast cancer found at stage 1 has close to 100% five-year survival. Found at stage 4, that figure is 32%.

What the evidence actually says

It is worth being careful here, because this is a trial, not a new treatment. FAST-Forward Boost has not shown that five days is as good as fifteen. That is the question it is asking. The answer is not due until 2033. Passing 1,000 participants is a recruitment milestone, not a result. What the trial is building on is real, though. An earlier study, called FAST-Forward, found that the standard course of 15 radiotherapy sessions over three weeks could be replaced by five sessions over one week for many patients. That finding changed practice. The new trial is asking whether the boost dose can be folded into that shorter week too. Professor Anna Kirby of The Royal Marsden and The Institute of Cancer Research, who is leading the trial, called reaching 1,000 participants 'a fantastic milestone' and thanked the patients and clinical teams taking part. Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the NIHR and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care, said the NIHR has been investing in studies like this one for 20 years, and that the aim is to reduce side effects and give patients more time away from hospital. One detail on the screening number. The 63.6% figure is for women taking up their first invitation. It is the highest in ten years, which is genuinely good news. It still means a large minority of women are not going.

Qurexa perspective

The part of this story that is closest to what we do is the travel. We deliver prescriptions to people's homes across Lincolnshire, and a good number of our customers are managing a long-term condition or recovering from treatment. The pattern we see is not usually one big problem. It is a steady stack of small ones: an appointment on Tuesday, a pharmacy trip on Thursday, a lift that fell through, a day when getting out of the house simply is not possible. So when researchers talk about removing ten hospital visits, we recognise what that is worth. It is not a small convenience. It is ten days of the week given back. That is also the honest limit of what home delivery does. It does not shorten anyone's treatment. It just removes one of the trips from the list, so the ones that genuinely require a hospital are easier to manage. If you are having treatment and the pharmacy run is one more thing to fit in, that is the bit we can take off your hands.

Practical advice

If you have had a breast screening invitation and not booked it, book it. That is the single most useful thing in this whole story. If you have lost the letter, your GP surgery can help you sort it out. If you have found a change in your breast, do not wait for a screening invitation. Screening is for people with no symptoms. A new lump, a change in shape or skin, or anything leaking from the nipple should go to your GP now, not in three years. If you are having radiotherapy, ask your team what your schedule is and whether a shorter course is an option for you. It may not be. Schedules depend on the type of cancer, the surgery you had and other factors. But it is a fair question to ask. If you are interested in joining a trial, ask your oncology team directly. They will know what is running at your hospital and whether you would be eligible. You can also look up trials on the Be Part of Research service. If hospital travel is the hard part, say so out loud at your appointment. Some trusts can help with transport or costs, and some people qualify for help through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Nobody will offer if they do not know.

What to know

More than 1,000 people have now joined FAST-Forward Boost, a UK trial testing whether breast cancer radiotherapy can be given in five days rather than three weeks, with a targeted extra dose included. It runs at 39 hospitals, aims to recruit 4,830 people by 2028, and results are expected in 2033. It is led by The Institute of Cancer Research and funded by the NIHR. This is a milestone in recruitment, not a result. Nothing about your treatment changes today. Alongside it, Ashley Dalton MP has been appointed to advise on the National Cancer Plan, and uptake of first breast screening invitations has reached 63.6%, the highest in a decade. Around four in ten women invited for the first time still do not attend. The number worth remembering: close to 100% five-year survival at stage 1, against 32% at stage 4. Going when you are invited is the part you control. Sources: GOV.UK (Department of Health and Social Care), 'Government steps up action on breast cancer', 30 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-steps-up-action-on-breast-cancer ; The Institute of Cancer Research, 'FAST-Forward Boost' trial page, https://www.icr.ac.uk/ff-boost ; The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, 'UK's largest breast cancer radiotherapy trial aims to cut radiotherapy time', https://www.christie.nhs.uk/about-us/news-at-the-christie/latest-news-stories/uk-s-largest-breast-cancer-radiotherapy-trial-aims-to-cut-radiotherapy-time This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.

#breast cancer#radiotherapy#NHS#clinical trials#cancer screening#NIHR

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