Dr Poortmans presented a late breaking abstract at a workshop on the regional control of breast cancer, along with speakers from Denmark, Canada and the UK. His abstract was on the updated results of his groups EORTC ROG and BCG phase III trial22922/10925 confirming the benefits of chest irradiation for patients with early breast cancer irrespective of their axillary nodal status. One of the key new points the data were presently able to confirm was that such regional radiotherapy extends life not only in chemotherapy-naïve patients, but also in those who have received extensive systemic therapy.