Delaying Radiation Therapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery

Patients who delayed RT for more than 20 weeks had poorer survival outcomes than did those who initiated RT 4 to 8 weeks after BCS.

Women who undergo breast-conserving surgery (BCS) typically receive adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) in short order. Delaying RT to the breast after BCS is hypothesized to give microscopic residual disease a chance to disseminate, which then heightens risk for local and distant recurrence and diminished overall survival (OS). Nevertheless, patients are often undecided about RT or opposed to it. Unfortunately, assessments of the association between clinical outcomes and BCS-to-RT intervals have yielded disparate results, often because studies have been limited by a paucity of patients who initiate RT >12 weeks after BCS.

To further investigate the impact of BCS-to-RT intervals on survival, researchers analyzed prospective data on 6428 women in…

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)