Skipping adjuvant regional nodal irradiation does not increase risk for recurrence or death after neoadjuvant chemo before breast-conserving surgery<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, Dec. 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Patients who present with breast cancer with axillary node involvement (cN+) who are found to be pathologically node-negative at surgery (ypN0) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy can avoid regional nodal irradiation (RNI), according to a study presented at the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held from Dec. 5 to 9 in San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Eleftherios (Terry) Mamounas, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, and colleagues conducted a trial enrolling 1,641 patients to examine whether adjuvant RNI including the chest wall after mastectomy or addition of RNI to whole breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) improves the invasive breast cancer recurrence-free interval (IBC-RFI) in patients who present with cN+ who are ypN0 at surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were randomly assigned to no RNI versus RNI after BCS. The primary event analysis included 1,556 patients.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that at the time of the analysis, 109 IBC-RFI events were confirmed (59 with no RNI versus 50 with RNI). Between the groups, there was no statistically significant difference observed for IBC-RFI, with five-year point estimates of 91.8 and 92.7 percent for no RNI and RNI, respectively. No significant between-group differences were seen for secondary end points.<\/p>\n
“Our findings suggest that downstaging cancer-positive regional lymph nodes with neoadjuvant chemotherapy can allow some patients to skip adjuvant RNI without adversely affecting oncologic outcomes,” Mamounas said in a statement. “Follow-up of patients for long-term outcomes continues.”<\/p>\n
Mamounas disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n
Press Release<\/a><\/p>\n