Most radiation oncologists I talk to consider that a reasonable approach and include it in their discussion. However, the patient perspective is conspicuously absent here. "Effective salvage" includes another biopsy, another surgery at least, and potentially more therapy. Why is it considered a reasonable approach to imply that none of these women should receive radiotherapy?
In my clinic, here is the discussion I give for a 67 year old fit woman with an ER low, Ki67 low 1.5 cm N0 IDC. These women are often a couple weeks past diagnosis and surgery, sore, and anxious. They don't want hormone therapy or radiotherapy, "why do I need this when the disease is out?".
So I share the options. Do nothing, not recommended, we discuss old B-trial data. Next, hormone therapy alone, 8-10% risk of recurrence in your life time. If it recurs, we can likely fix it with surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy. If you stop hormone therapy, the risk goes up. Alternatively, radiotherapy for 5 days per Florence for a recurrence risk of <1% (I will start using this number). This carries a very low but non-zero risk of acute and late toxicity. I close by discussion radiotherapy alone and how there is limited data, in part due to investigator bias against radiation.
Genuinely as yourself what you would pick.
It is very patient uncentered to deny patients this discussion by emphasizing we are "over treating" 90% of patients.
It is shockingly hypocritical for a medical oncologist - a doctor that makes a living off adjuvant therapy in unselected populations - to suggest that.