Radiotherapy After Segmental Resection  is Beneficial Even Among Women With Low Risk Breast Cancer

 


We published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology a data of breast cancer patients (n=264) with favorable prognostic features (age over 40 years, tumour size  2 cm or less, node-negative, progesterone receptor positive, grade I or II, low proliferation rate) who were randomized to receive or not to receive radiotherapy (50 Gy) after segmental resection. After the median follow-up time of 12.1 years sixteen (11.6%) and 34 (27.2%) cancers recurred locally in the radiotherapy and the control arm (p=0.0013). Time to local recurrence was longer in the radiotherapy arm (HR 0.36; 96% Cl, 0.20 to 0.65; p=0.00071). No difference was observed in overall survival time, distant disease-free survival or breast cancer-specific survival between the groups. Radiotherapy significantly reduces the frequency of ipsilateral breast recurrences even among women with very favorable prognostic features. The difference was seen both among premenopausal (p=0.009) and postmenopausal women (P=0.012)

 

 

Bibliographic Reference

Holli K et al.: "Radiotherapy After Segmental Resection of Breast Cancer With Favorable Prognostic Features: 12-Year Follow-Up Results of a Randomized Trial", J Clin Oncol. 2008 Dec 29. [Epub ahead of print] 

 

 

Kaija Holli

Departments of Oncology and Surgery, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere University Medical School, Tampere, Finland