MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A new study is raising questions about the medical treatment plan for older women with breast cancer.

Some doctors do not recommend radiation treatment for older women after a lumpectomy.

However, a new study found that some older women may want radiation after the surgery, because it may help prevent more surgery later. The study in the journal Cancer looked at 7,400 women (ages 70 to 79) who had had lumpectomies. Most of them received radiation afterward.

Researchers found within 10 years, only 6 percent of those women did not need additional surgery while about 3 percent needed a mastectomy.

“For those patients, the decision of whether or not to use radiation after a lumpectomy should be something that is discussed with their doctors,” said Dr. Freya Schnabel, of the NYU Langone Medical Center.

The study also found one group of women that may not benefit from radiation: women over 75 with low grade breast cancer.