Robert Buras

Similar survival with breast conservation therapy or mastectomy in the management of young women with early-stage breast cancer

PURPOSE To evaluate survival outcomes of young women with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast conservation therapy (BCT) or mastectomy, using a large, population-based database. METHODS AND MATERIALS Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, information was obtained for all female patients, ages 20 to 39 years old, diagnosed with T1-2 N0-1 M0 breast cancer between 1990 and 2007, who underwent either BCT (lumpectomy and radiation treatment) or mastectomy. Multivariable and matched pair analyses were performed to compare overall survival (OS) and cause-specific survival (CSS) of patients undergoing BCT and mastectomy. RESULTS A total of 14,764 women were identified, of whom 45% received BCT and 55% received mastectomy. Median follow-up was 5.7 years (range, 0.5-17.9 years). After we accounted for all patient and tumor characteristics, multivariable analysis found that BCT resulted in OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-1.04; p = 0.16) and CSS (HR, 0.93; CI, 0.83-1.05; p = 0.26) similar to that of mastectomy. Matched pair analysis, including 4,644 BCT and mastectomy patients, confirmed no difference in OS or CSS: the 5-, 10-, and 15-year OS rates for BCT and mastectomy were 92.5%, 83.5%, and 77.0% and 91.9%, 83.6%, and 79.1%, respectively (p = 0.99), and the 5-, 10-, and 15-year CSS rates for BCT and mastectomy were 93.3%, 85.5%, and 79.9% and 92.5%, 85.5%, and 81.9%, respectively (p = 0.88). CONCLUSIONS Our analysis of this population-based database suggests that young women with early-stage breast cancer have similar survival rates whether treated with BCT or mastectomy. These patients should be counseled appropriately regarding their treatment options and should not choose a mastectomy based on the assumption of improved survival.

Accelerated partial breast irradiation via brachytherapy: a patterns-of-care analysis with ASTRO consensus statement groupings.

PURPOSE The 2002 Food and Drug Administration approval of the MammoSite catheter (Hologic, Inc., Beford, MA) led to a surge of interest in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). Until recently, guidelines as to the optimal candidates for this treatment were unavailable. We performed a patterns-of-care analysis for patients undergoing breast brachytherapy and compared these results with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) consensus statement. METHODS AND MATERIALS The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to examine female breast cancer patients treated with brachytherapy between 2002 and 2007. The patients were then categorized into suitable, cautionary, and unsuitable groups based on the ASTRO guidelines. RESULTS We identified 4172 female breast cancer patients treated within the stated years. The number of brachytherapy cases increased nearly 10-fold over the time period studied from 163 in 2002 to 1427 in 2007 (p<0.0001). Patients with data missing were excluded, leaving a total of 3593 patients available for analysis. The mean patient age was 64 years. Most patients had small (<2cm in 80.9%) estrogen receptor-positive (86.7%) invasive (88.6%) tumors. The percentage of patients treated for ductal carcinoma in situ increased with time (p<0.001), whereas the percentage of patients treated with positive lymph nodes decreased with time (p<0.001). Using the data available, 1369 (38.1%), 1563 (43.5%), and 661 (18.3%) patients were characterized as suitable, cautionary, and unsuitable, respectively. CONCLUSIONS More than 60% of patients who received APBI via brachytherapy would fall into the ASTRO cautionary or unsuitable groupings. This is the largest patterns-of-care analysis for APBI patients and serves as a baseline for future comparison.

Preoperative radiation therapy significantly increases patient eligibility for accelerated partial breast irradiation using 3D-conformal radiotherapy.

Introduction:Three-dimensional-conformal radiation (3D-CRT) is the most common approach used in National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-39 for accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). Administration of APBI-3D-CRT in the preoperative (preop) setting has been shown to decrease the planning target volume. The impact of this decrease on patient eligibility for APBI has not been evaluated in a comparative manner. Materials and Methods:Forty patients with 41 previously treated breast cancers (⩽4 cm) were analyzed. A spherical preop tumor volume was created using the largest reported radiographic dimension and centered within the contoured lumpectomy cavity. Plans were created and optimized using the preop tumor volume and postoperative lumpectomy cavity using NSABP B-39 guidelines. The primary end point was to evaluate for differences in patient eligibility and normal tissue exposure. Results:Thirty-five tumors (85%) in the preop versus 19 tumors (46%) in the postoperative setting were eligible for 3D-CRT-APBI using NSABP B-39 criteria (P=0.0002). The most common reason for ineligibility was due to >60% of the ipsilateral breast volume receiving 50% of the dose. Other reasons included dose to the contralateral breast, heart, and ipsilateral lung. Preop 3D-CRT-APBI was associated with statistically significant improvements in dose sparing to the heart, ipsilateral normal breast tissue, contralateral breast, chest wall, ipsilateral lung, and skin. Conclusions:Dosimetrically, the use of preop radiation would increase patient eligibility for 3D-CRT-APBI and decrease dose to normal tissues, which will potentially decrease toxicity and improve cosmesis. These results provide the basis for a recently activated prospective study of preop 3D-CRT-APBI.