Study: Breast cancer treatment causes complications

October 24, 2012 (WLS) -- It's called brachytherapy and it was hailed as an alternative to fight breast cancer, but now there's concern this targeted radiation for breast cancer causes more complications in patients than whole breast radiation.

Proponents of brachytherapy say it is better because it reduces the amount of healthy tissue exposed to radiation.

Researchers say in theory the method seems to be ideal but there's not enough scientific evidence to prove the benefits. They found brachytherapy was associated with a nearly 17 percent higher rate of wound and skin complications in the year after treatment.

Authors of the study in the journal Oncology say brachytherapy has become increasingly popular.

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