Importance of radiation therapy for breast cancer patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant

Impact of high-dose chemotherapy on the ability to deliver subsequent local-regional radiotherapy for breast cancer: analysis of Cancer and Leukemia Group B Protocol 9082

PURPOSE

To report, from Cancer and Leukemia Group B Protocol 9082, the impact of high-dose cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, and BCNU (HD-CPB) vs. intermediate-dose CPB (ID-CPB) on the ability to start and complete the planned course of local-regional radiotherapy (RT) for women with breast cancer involving >or=10 axillary nodes.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

From 1991 to 1998, 785 patients were randomized. The HD-CPB and ID-CPB arms were balanced regarding patient characteristics. The HD-CPB and ID-CPB arms were compared on the probability of RT initiation, interruption, modification, or incompleteness. The impact of clinical variables and interactions between variables were also assessed.

RESULTS

Radiotherapy was initiated in 82% (325 of 394) of HD-CPB vs. 92% (360 of 391) of ID-CPB patients (p = 0.001). On multivariate analyses, RT was less likely given to patients who were randomized to HD treatment (odds ratio [OR] = 0 .38, p < 0.001), older (p = 0.005), African American (p = 0.003), postmastectomy (p = 0.02), or estrogen receptor positive (p = 0.03). High-dose treatment had a higher rate of RT interruption (21% vs. 12%, p = 0.001, OR = 2.05), modification (29% vs. 14%, p = 0.001, OR = 2.46), and early termination of RT (9% vs. 2%, p = 0.0001, OR = 5.35), compared with ID.

CONCLUSION

Treatment arm significantly related to initiation, interruption, modification, and early termination of RT. Patients randomized to HD-CPB were less likely to initiate RT, and of those who did, they were more likely to have RT interrupted, modified, and terminated earlier than those randomized to ID-CPB. The observed lower incidence of RT usage in African Americans vs. non-African Americans warrants further study.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for primary breast cancer refractory to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

The role of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) in patients with refractory breast cancer is not well established. Forty-two female patients (median age of 46 years) with breast cancer refractory to neoadjuvant chemotherapy received HDCT (cyclophosphamide, carmustine and thiotepa) supported by an autologous peripheral blood stem cells transplant. Their disease had been refractory (defined as less than partial response) to one (18 patients) or two (24 patients) regimens of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Twenty-nine patients had surgery before HDCT. The best response after surgery, HDCT, and radiation therapy was assessed 60 days after transplantation. Thirty patients had complete remission, eight had a PR, one had a minor response, and three had progressive disease. In seven of 13 patients whose disease was inoperable before HDCT, it became operable. After a median follow-up of 42 months, 21 patients were alive, and 15 remained disease free. Five-year overall survival (OS) was 57% (CI, 50-64%), and the estimated 5-year progression-free survival was 40% (CI, 32-48%). Both OS and PFS were better in patients whose disease became operable after chemotherapy than in those whose disease remained inoperable. A randomized study is warranted in this patient population.

Short- and long-term cause-specific survival of patients with inflammatory breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) had been perceived to have a poor prognosis. Oncologists were not enthusiastic in the past to give aggressive treatment. Single institution studies tend to have small patient numbers and limited years of follow-up. Most studies do not report 10-, 15- or 20-year results.

METHODS

Data was obtained from the population-based database of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of the National Cancer Institute from 1975-1995 using SEER*Stat5.0 software. This period of 21 years was divided into 7 periods of 3 years each. The years were chosen so that there was adequate follow-up information to 2000. ICD-O-2 histology 8530/3 was used to define IBC. The lognormal model was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 1684 patients were analyzed, of which 84% were white, 11% were African Americans, and 5% belonged to other races. Age distribution was < 30 years in 1%, 30-40 in 11%, 40-50 in 22%, 50-60 in 24%, 60-70 in 21%, and > 70 in 21%. The lognormal model was validated for 1975-77 and for 1978-80, since the 10-, 15- and 20-year cause-specific survival (CSS) rates, could be calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method with data available in 2000. The data were then used to estimate the 10-, 15- and 20-year CSS rates for the more recent years, and to study the trend of improvement in survival. There were increasing incidences of IBC: 134 patients in the 1975-77 period to 416 patients in the 1993-95 period. The corresponding 20-year CSS increased from 9% to 20% respectively with standard errors of less than 4%.

CONCLUSION

The improvement of survival during the study period may be due to introduction of more aggressive treatments. However, there seem to be no further increase of long-term CSS, which should encourage oncologists to find even more effective treatments. Because of small numbers of patients, randomized studies will be difficult to conduct. The SEER population-based database will yield the best possible estimate of the trend in improvement of survival for patients with IBC.

T1-T2 Breast Cancer with Four or More Positive Axillary Lymph Nodes: Adjuvant Locoregional Radiotherapy with High-Dose or Standard-Dose Chemotherapy. Results of an Observational Study

Aim and background

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of postoperative locoregional radiotherapy in patients with T1-T2 breast cancer and four or more positive axillary lymph nodes submitted to mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery followed by standard-dose or high-dose adjuvant chemotherapy. The incidence of locoregional relapses and the survival correlated with the number of positive nodes were recorded for each treatment arm.

Patients and methods

From August 1992 to August 1999 86 breast cancer patients (median age, 54 years, T1-T2, N+ >4) submitted to surgery were treated. Sixty-three patients received standard-dose chemotherapy while 23 patients with 10 or more positive nodes received high-dose chemotherapy. After four courses of standard-dose anthracycline-based chemotherapy peripheral blood stem cells were mobilized with cyclophosphamide (7g/m2) and G-CSF (10-16 μg/kg/day/sc). High-dose chemotherapy consisted of etoposide 1000 mg/m2, thiotepa 500 mg/m2 and carboplatin 800 mg/m2. Hormone receptor-positive patients underwent hormone therapy. Following chemotherapy all 86 patients were given conventional radiotherapy to the breast or the chest wall and the supraclavicular fossa. The high-dose subgroup received radiotherapy to the internal mammary nodes ± axilla. Results: The median follow-up from the start of radiotherapy was 36.5 months. Locoregional relapses occurred in nine patients (10.4%); in four of them they were isolated (4.6%). Local relapses were four (4.6%) and regional relapses six (6.9%). Twenty-five patients (29%) had distant metastases. The five-year and eight-year overall actuarial survival rates were 82.6% ± 4.8 and 60.1% ± 8.8, respectively. No statistical differences were found when the number of positive nodes or the type of treatment of N+ 10 patients was included in the analysis.

Conclusions

Breast cancer patients with four or more positive axillary lymph nodes are at high risk of developing locoregional and distant relapses. The results reported here demonstrate the efficacy of radiotherapy in the reduction of locoregional failure; no differences in survival and locoregional control in relation to treatment arm and number of positive nodes were found.

Pattern of alternative medicine usage among the Chinese breast cancer patients: implication for service integration

The study examined the pattern of and factors associated with use of alternative medicine (AM) among Chinese breast cancer patients. An analytical, cross-sectional survey of 352 breast cancer patients from two breast cancer centers was conducted in 1997. Amongst the respondents, the usage rate of alternative medicine was 27.8%. Factors forming the use of AM included being young to middle-aged, having higher education and a belief that AM would enhance orthodox treatment. A substantial proportion of Chinese breast cancer patients use AM besides conventional medicine. There is a need to integrate AM with conventional medicine to improve the service provision for cancer patients.

Radiation therapy after high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell support for high-risk breast cancer

Multidisciplinary treatment in high-risk breast cancer improves survival and local control. The feasibility and patterns of failure after several induction and high-dose consolidation regimens of chemotherapy were evaluated in this study. Between November 1990 and January 1997, 65 patients with histologically proven breast cancer American Joint Committee on Cancer stages II-III with four or more axillary lymph nodes positive or locally advanced breast cancer underwent high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with peripheral stem cell support after surgery and induction chemotherapy. All patients were subsequently treated with radiotherapy (up to total doses of 50-60 Gy), which included the ipsilateral axilla and supraclavicular fossa and the chest wall or breast. A minimum follow-up period of 2 years from the completion of radiotherapy was required for analysis. Local control (LC), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity were evaluated. With a median follow-up of 62 months (range: 32-107 months), LC was 89%, and 5-year OS and DFS were 78% and 63%, respectively. Symptomatic pneumonitis developed in six patients (9%); only one patient had her radiotherapy interrupted because of hematologic toxicity. No treatment-related mortality was observed. Radiation therapy after HDC provides excellent local control rates without excessive toxicity. Delaying the start of irradiation until recovery from HDC does not seem to increase local failure rates.

Radiotherapy after high-dose chemotherapy and peripheral blood stem cell support in high-risk breast cancer

PURPOSE

To assess the toxicity and efficacy of radiotherapy with respect to locoregional control after adjuvant high-dose chemotherapy for patients with breast cancer. At first, radiotherapy was withheld because of toxicity concerns, but it was introduced in 1995 because of reported high locoregional relapse rates.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Between 1992 and 1998, 40 patients with Stage II-III high-risk breast cancer received adjuvant high-dose chemotherapy consisting of thiotepa, mitoxantrone, and cyclophosphamide and peripheral blood stem cell support after four cycles of induction chemotherapy. The chest wall or breast, as well as the supraclavicular nodes, were irradiated with electrons and photons to a median dose of 50.4 Gy in 20 patients. Six additional patients received only supraclavicular irradiation to a median dose of 50.4 Gy. Acute toxicity was scored clinically. Pulmonary function tests were performed in 14 irradiated patients before high-dose chemotherapy and 1.1-4.4 years (median 1.6) after irradiation. The median follow-up time of living patients was 33 vs. 67 months in irradiated (n = 26) and nonirradiated (n = 14) patients, respectively.

RESULTS

G2 and G3 hematologic toxicity occurred in 1 patient each. No clinical pneumonitis or clinical impairment of lung function was observed. After 1-2 years, the lung function tests showed only minor changes in 4 patients. The 3-year locoregional control rate was 92% in the irradiated patients vs. 58% in the nonirradiated patients (p = 0.049, actuarial analysis).

CONCLUSION

In this series, adjuvant radiotherapy after adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer appeared well tolerated, with improved local regional control and without significant side effects. Longer follow-up and more patient accrual, as well as Phase III trials, are necessary for confirmation.

Locoregionally recurrent breast cancer: incidence, risk factors and survival

Locoregional recurrence (LRR) after therapy for early breast cancer is common. Patients with LRR can suffer both local consequences and symptoms of metastatic disease, as LRR is an independent predictor of subsequent distant metastases. Much of the available data on LRR is derived from small, single institution, retrospective studies, so marked differences in the incidence rates for LRR, it's risk factors and subsequent systemic recurrence are reported. The purpose of this review was to try and collate this data in a format that would be useful for both clinicians and their patients.