Current cancer guidelines for most women under the age of 65 recommend having lumpectomy with radiation therapy.
Women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer can often opt for a lumpectomy, which removes only the cancerous tissue and a thin margin of surrounding healthy cells, rather than a mastectomy, when all breast tissue is removed. In this regard, a new study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting considers an option on how to skip radiation for some women under 55.
The study involved 500 women aged 55 years or older with early-stage breast cancers similar to established criteria for skipping radiation during treatment. It also allowed women to enroll if the margin of normal removed breast tissue was very thin (only 1 millimeter or more). The analysis used an additional test on the cancer cells removed during the lumpectomy to confirm that they were growing slowly.
Over a five-year follow-up, the study found that the recurrence rate of breast cancer in the same breast was 2.3% in women who did not receive radiation after lumpectomy and instead took endocrine blockers. expected rate with the use of radiation. “Most relapses will occur within five years. If reproducible, the results could suggest a new set of criteria for avoiding radiation.“, according to. Nadine Tung, Director of the Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Risk Prevention and Medical Oncology Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
“The debate right now is about whether radiation can be skipped for a larger group of breast cancer patients. For example, can we take this approach in patients under the age of 65 if patients are chosen carefully?Asks Dr. Tung.
Women who choose to skip radiation are instead given a drug known as endocrine therapy for five years. which prevents cancer cells from using hormones such as estrogen to grow and spread.
“This study could help evaluate the results of other studies that skip radiation to make sure you have identified additional invasive breast cancer patients for whom radiation can be safely skipped.Tung adds. “Some of these studies use molecular tests to evaluate the characteristics of breast cancer and we also await the results of the tests.” LDB (SyM)
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