Time to Chemotherapy after Breast Cancer Surgery

The interval is increasing, but the effect on outcomes is unclear.

Adjuvant chemotherapy is ideally begun as soon as possible after breast cancer surgery — and, by extension, as soon as possible after diagnosis — to prevent the multiplication of residual tumor cells and progression of micro-metastases, if present. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommend that adjuvant chemotherapy be administered within 120 days of diagnosis of stage II or III hormone receptor-negative breast cancer in women aged <70 years. A previous report found that 87% of NCCN centers complied with this recommendation (J Clin Oncol 2009; 27(15S):6506).

To further assess the time between diagnosis of breast cancer and initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy after definitive surg…

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)