2023-12-18 19:40:00
A study showed that when post-menopausal breast cancer patients omitted radiation therapy and continued hormone therapy for 5 years, the survival rate was 100% and 99% had no recurrence of breast cancer. /Shutterstock
A study showed that post-menopausal breast cancer patients in their early 50s or 60s (stage 1) may skip radiation treatment following surgery.
Patients with early-stage breast cancer receive breast-conserving lumpectomy and radiation therapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells. Breast-preserving lumpectomy is a method of preserving the breast by minimizing the resection area.
The research team led by Professor Reshma Amblyopia Radiation Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine in the U.S. conducted a study targeting 186 women (ages 50 to 69) diagnosed with early stage estrogen receptor positive (ER+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) breast cancer. HealthDay News reported on the 12th that a study revealed this fact.
ER+ breast cancer is a type of breast cancer promoted by the female hormone estrogen, and the cancer cells have estrogen or progesterone receptors. HER2- Breast cancer is breast cancer that has no or only a small amount of the HER2 protein, which promotes tumor growth through overexpression of the gene. ER+/HER2- breast cancer accounts for more than 87% of all breast cancers.
Postmenopausal women diagnosed with this type of breast cancer undergo a lumpectomy, which removes only the tumor tissue from the breast, followed by hormone therapy and radiation therapy.
The women in the study were evaluated as having a low possibility of recurrence through highly sensitive genetic testing, so they skipped radiation therapy and continued only hormone therapy for five years.
The research team followed them for more than 56 months and examined overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (CSS).
As a result, the survival rate following 5 years was 100%, and 99% had no recurrence of breast cancer.
For women who omitted radiation therapy, both the overall survival rate and breast cancer-specific survival rate were 100%.
The breast cancer recurrence rate was 1%. Two patients relapsed before 5 years. In one patient, the cancer recurred 2 years later in the lymph node on the same side where the breast cancer originally occurred, and in the other patient, 49 months later, the cancer recurred in the same breast where the cancer occurred. All were local recurrences and there were no metastatic recurrences.
Of course, we don’t know what will happen five years from now. Five years is a short period of time for a breast cancer survivor. Therefore, the research team emphasized that longer-term follow-up is necessary to confirm whether it is safe to omit radiation treatment.
Radiation treatment technology has advanced a lot over the years, and side effects have been reduced significantly. Although this clinical trial began in 2015, the research team pointed out that currently, less than five fractionated radiation treatments are sufficient for women who are eligible to participate in this clinical trial.
Therefore, the research team added that they do not want to overestimate the benefits of omitting radiation therapy.
The research team plans to continue tracking clinical trial participants for a total of 10 years.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, an academic journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. (Seoul = Yonhap News)[End_mark]
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