Treatment Outcomes after Postoperative Radiotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Multi-Institutional...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiotherapy
• Breast Cancer Research

Background:

• Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) presents unique challenges in treatment and prognosis.
• Postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) is a critical component of TNBC management.
• Understanding failure patterns and prognostic factors after PORT is essential for improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate failure patterns, survival rates, and prognostic factors in South Korean TNBC patients receiving PORT.
• To identify key clinical and biological factors influencing outcomes after PORT for TNBC.

Main Methods:

• A multi-institutional retrospective study involving 699 TNBC patients who underwent PORT.
• Data collected from six institutions between 2008 and 2010, with a median follow-up of 94 months.
• Analysis included overall survival, loco-regional relapse-free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS).

Main Results:

• Patients achieving pathologic complete remission after neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed no treatment failure.
• Distant metastasis was the primary cause of treatment failure.
• Five-year survival rates: overall (91.4%), LRRFS (92.3%), DMFS (89.4%), and DFS (85.2%).
• T and N stages, lympho-vascular invasion (LVI), and Ki-67 expression were significant prognostic factors.

Conclusions:

• T and N stages, LVI, and Ki-67 expression are significantly associated with survival outcomes in TNBC patients post-PORT.
• These factors can aid in risk stratification and personalized treatment strategies for TNBC.