FAST-Forward
FAST-Forward is investigating whether a shorter course of radiotherapy treatment for people with breast cancer is as safe and effective as the standard longer course.
Disease site: Breast cancer
Treatment Modality:
Status: In follow-up
What is the study about?
FAST-Forward is investigating whether a shorter course of radiotherapy treatment for people with breast cancer is as safe and effective as the standard longer course.
When FAST-Forward started all participants received radiotherapy treatment targeted at their breast alone. In 2015 the study was modified to allow participants to receive radiotherapy both to their breast and to nearby lymph nodes which were affected by cancer.
Who is included in the study?
FAST-Forward included people with breast cancer who were receiving radiotherapy after surgery to remove their cancer.
- 4,100 people who were having radiotherapy targeted at their breast joined the main study.
- 469 people who were having treatment targeted at their breast and nearby lymph nodes joined the nodal substudy.
People from 102 NHS hospitals across the UK joined the trial.
What are the study treatments?
The FAST-Forward study included three treatment groups:
- Standard treatment - fifteen daily doses of radiotherapy over three weeks
- Test group one - five daily doses of radiotherapy over one week
- Test group two - five daily doses of radiotherapy over one week, at a slightly lower daily dose than test group one
Participants have regular check-ups during and after their treatment and we collect information about how they are getting on until the study is completed.
Further information for participants
Patient Information Sheet (lymphatic sub-study)
Patient Information Sheet (no PROMs or photos)
Patient Information Sheet (short term side effects)
A detailed summary is available on Cancer Research UK’s website
Further information for healthcare professionals
Contact details and regulatory information
Chief Investigator: Professor Murray Brunt, University of Keele and Institute of Cancer Research
ICR-CTSU scientific lead: Professor Judith Bliss
Trial management contact: [email protected]
Sponsor: The Institute of Cancer Research
Funding: National Institute for Health Research – Health Technology Assessment Programme (Grant 09/01/1947)
Publications and presentations
Brunt AM, Haviland JS, Wheatley DA, Sydenham MA, Alhasso A, Bloomfield DJ, Chan C, Churn M, Cleator S, Coles CE, Goodman A, Harnett A, Hopwood P, Kirby A, Kirwan C, Morris C, Nabi Z, Sawyer E, Somaiah N, Stones L, Syndikus I, Bliss JM and Yarnold JR, on behalf of the FAST-Forward Trial Management Group. Hypofractionated breast radiotherapy for 1 week versus 3 weeks (FAST-Forward): 5-year efficacy and late normal tissue effects results from a multicentre, non-inferiority, randomised, phase 3 trial, The Lancet, May 2020
Brunt AM, Wheatley D, Yarnold JR, Somaiah N, Kelly S, Harnett A, Coles CE, Goodman A, Bahl A, Churn M, Zotova R, Sydenham MA, Griffin CL, Morden J and Bliss JM, on behalf of the FAST-Forward Trial Management Group. Acute skin toxicity associated with a 1-week schedule of whole breast radiotherapy compared with a standard 3-week regimen delivered in the UK FAST-Forward Trial, Radiotherapy and Oncology, July 2016
Brunt AM, Yarnold J, Wheatley D, Somaiah N, Kelly S, Harnett A, Coles C, Goodman A, Zotova R, Sydenham M, Griffin C and Bliss J. Acute skin toxicity reported in the FAST-Forward trial (HTA 09/01/47): a phase III randomised trial of 1-week whole breast radiotherapy compared to standard 3 weeks in patients with early breast cancer. Presented at: 10th National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Conference; 2014 Nov 2-5
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