Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Two-Stage Tissue Expander/Implant Breast Reconstruction: Does it Affect Final Outcomes?

In immediate two-stage implant-based breast reconstruction, adjuvant chemotherapy, when indicated, is usually conducted between the stages, which might influence the outcomes of the second-stage operation.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential influence of adjuvant chemotherapy on the final outcomes of two-stage implant-based reconstructions.

Patients who underwent immediate tissue expander/implant breast reconstruction between 2010 and 2016, with completion of both stages, were reviewed. Cases were categorized into two groups-adjuvant chemotherapy and no adjuvant chemotherapy. The rates of adverse outcomes were compared between the groups.

A total of 602 cases in 568 patients were analyzed, with a mean follow-up period of 58.5 months, including 236 patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and 366 patients not receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. The two groups had similar baseline characteristics, except for a significantly higher rate of adjuvant radiotherapy in the former group. The adjuvant chemotherapy group showed significantly higher rates of overall complications (odds ratio [OR] 2.127, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.231-3.676), including infections (OR 4.239, 95% CI 1.059-16.970), severe capsular contractures (OR 2.107, 95% CI 1.067-4.159), and reconstruction failures (OR 12.754, 95% CI 1.587-102.481) compared with the control group, after adjusting for other variables, including adjuvant radiotherapy. In the analysis regarding the influence of chemotherapy regimens, the use of sequential anthracycline/cyclophosphamide and taxane, and concurrent 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, were associated with increased risks for adverse outcomes compared with the no chemotherapy group, while the use of other regimens, including anthracycline/cyclophosphamide alone, was not.

Adjuvant chemotherapy might influence the final outcomes of two-stage implant-based reconstruction.