29 Jan Radiation Overutilized in Elderly Stage1 ER+ Breast Cancer Patients

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Quyen Chu

Quyen Chu, MD, MBA, FACS
Charles Knight Professor in Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Chief, Surgical Oncology
Director, Surface Malignancies Program
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center
Louisiana State University
Health Sciences Center, Shreveport

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Chu: In 2004, national treatment recommendations changed for a select group of elderly breast cancer patients with the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 9343 trial. Research found that postoperative radiation therapy was not needed to prolong survival in a select group of women 70 or older, mainly those with a small, estrogen receptor (ER) positive tumor, and receiving anti-hormone therapy.  Even with this information, nearly two thirds of the women who fit these criteria were still receiving radiation therapy after undergoing a lumpectomy although it has been proven to be safe to omit.

We found that as a nation, we are mostly not following the national guideline on breast cancer treatment and that the possible side effects of RT can be avoided.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Chu: Clinicians and patients should take away from this report that in U.S. women 70 or older with stage I, ER+ breast cancer and receiving anti-hormone therapy, radiation therapy is overly utilized as it is not needed to prolong survival.  

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Chu: Because CALGB 9343 trial results have been confirmed in the 10-year update and from the results of this study and many others, I would recommend that clinicians and researchers thoroughly analyze their experience with omitting radiation therapy in this population of patients.

Medical Research: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dr. Chu: I hope this study provides the nation with a better awareness of breast cancer treatment options for this population of elderly patients and that clinicians will weigh the risks and benefits of RT before recommending it.

Citation:

Quyen D. Chu, Kaelen Medeiros, Meijiao Zhou, Prakash Peddi, Xiao-Cheng Wu. Impact of Cooperative Trial and Sociodemographic Variation on Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Usage in Elderly Women (≥70 years) with Stage I, Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer: Analysis of the National Cancer Data Base. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2015.12.018

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Quyen Chu, MD, MBA, FACS (2016). Radiation Overutilized in Elderly Stage1 ER+ Breast Cancer Patients 

Last Updated on January 29, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD