08 Jan Despite Better Chemotherapy, US Women Choosing More Rather Than Less TNBC Surgery

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Golshan

Mehra Golshan, MD, MBA
Dr. Abdul Mohsen & Sultana Al-Tuwaijri Distinguished Chair
Surgical OncologyDirector of Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Triple negative breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer that often requires chemotherapy. In this study we provided neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without a PARP inhibitor and showed that many women who were originally ineligible for breast conservation (lumpectomy) became eligible after treatment.

If lumpectomy was tried it was usually successful.  Many more women in the US compared to Europe and Asia chose mastectomy when lumpectomy was an option even when genetics is negative.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Breast surgical decision making is complex and layered. It requires close communication between the clinical team and the patient. Drug therapy to treat breast cancer has improved dramatically over the last several decades. Despite these improvements, especially in the United States women are choosing more rather than less surgery. 

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Tailoring questions to why women are making these choices and discussing what is important to them in decision making. Also why there is such a big difference between women who have the same treatment and information in the US versus the rest of the world?

No disclosures

Citation:

Golshan M, Loibl S, Wong SM, et al. Breast Conservation After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Surgical Results From the BrighTNess Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Surg. Published online January 08, 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.5410

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Last Updated on January 8, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD