Post-Operative Radiation in Early Breast Cancer with N1 Disease: 10-Year Follow-Up

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiotherapy
• Breast Cancer Research

Background:

• Post-operative radiotherapy for early breast cancer with N1 disease is debated.
• While it improves locoregional control, its impact on overall survival remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the 10-year clinical benefit of post-operative irradiation in post-menopausal women with early breast cancer and N1 disease.
• To assess overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) and identify factors influencing them.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 191 post-menopausal women diagnosed between 2004 and 2011.
• Analysis of demographics, histology, adjuvant treatments, OS, and DFS.
• Comparison of outcomes between patients who received post-operative radiation and those who did not.

Main Results:

• Post-operative radiation was administered to 49.7% of patients.
• Factors associated with receiving radiation included younger age, more involved nodes, lymphovascular invasion, and higher tumor grade.
• Nodal radiation did not significantly improve 10-year DFS or OS.
• A significant improvement in 10-year OS was observed in patients receiving radiation who also had only hormonal therapy and no other systemic treatment.

Conclusions:

• Post-operative nodal radiation did not significantly improve 10-year DFS or OS in early breast cancer patients with N1 disease.
• The overall survival benefit of radiotherapy in this patient group was not clearly demonstrated.
• Radiotherapy demonstrated a benefit in improving overall survival for patients on hormonal therapy alone.