Survival impact of primary tumor resection in de novo metastatic breast cancer patients (GEICAM/El Alamo Registry)

Breast surgery for patients with de novo metastatic breast cancer: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The role of breast surgery in the treatment of patients with de novo metastatic breast cancer(dnMBC) remains controversial, with conflicting trial results. We did a meta-analysis to comprehensively investigate and assess whether breast surgery is associated with survival and quality of life outcomes in patients with dnMBC.We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science, from database inception to March 30, 2022, for randomized controlled trials(RCTs) that compared breast surgery or locoregional therapy with non-surgical treatment based on systemic therapy for managing dnMBC.We also reviewed abstracts and presentations from major conference proceedings. We excluded non-randomised trials and considered only papers published in English. The primary outcomes were overall survival(OS),locoregional progression-free survival(LPFS), distant progression-free survival(DPFS), and quality of life(QoL). The quality of RCTs was appraised with the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. Random-effects model or fixed effects model were used to calculate the effect sizes of included RCTs.Quality of evidence was assessed with GRADE criteria. Data analysis was performed with STATA 17.0. A total of 1018 women from seven randomized clinical trials were included in the analysis. Pooled analyses revealed that compared with systemic therapy, breast surgery was not associated with beneficial outcomes in OS(hazard ratio [HR],0.87; 95%CI,0.68 to 1.11; I2 = 53.08 %; p = 0.265),DPFS(HR,1.20; 95%CI,0.94 to 1.54; I2 = 86.45 %; p = 0.136), or QoL-global health status (standardized mean difference[SMD],0.08; 95%CI,-0.15 to 0.32; I2 = 79.45 %; p = 0.478) and QoL-mental-physical functionality(SMD,-0.19; 95%CI,-0.50 to 0.13; I2 = 0.00 %; p = 0.255), but was associated with a benefit in LPFS(HR,0.27; 95%CI,0.19 to 0.38; I2 = 84.16 %; p < 0.001). These findings were consistent in subgroup analyses of the timing of surgery, site and number of metastases and tumor molecular subtype. The evidence grade was moderate because of the substantial heterogeneity among studies. Based on the RCTs evidence, we found that breast surgery may benefit locoregional control but does not prolong OS and improve QoL in patients with dnMBC. The Prospero registration number: CRD42020206460.

Survival Analysis in Male Breast Cancer With Bone Metastasis Based on the SEER Database

Purpose

Breast cancer (BC) has been extensively and deeply studied as the number one malignant tumor in women, but its status in male patients, especially in male metastatic patients, is rarely reported. Thus, this study aimed to explore the prognosis and risk factors of male BC with bone metastasis.

Patients and Methods

We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to identify all patients diagnosed with male BC with bone metastasis from 2010 to 2016. Risk factors of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were analyzed by univariable and multivariable Cox analyses. We also drew Kaplan–Meier plots to show the correlation between independent risk factors and survival.

Results

A total of 207 male BC patients with bone metastasis were included for analysis. Approximately one-third of patients also had lung metastasis. Luminal A subtype comprised 58.5% of the overall patient population. These patients had a poor prognosis, with 3-year OS and CSS rates, 36.7% and 39.5%, respectively. Further analysis revealed that age ≤60 years old, luminal A or B, and surgery were independent predictors of prolonged OS and CSS. On Cox multivariable analysis, brain metastasis was associated with OS and not CSS.

Conclusion

We identified four independent factors associated with prognosis in male BC patients with bone metastasis, namely age, tumor subtype, surgery, and brain metastasis. Knowing these risk factors will help clinicians make more appropriate treatment plans.

Locoregional Therapy in De novo Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective: Whether locoregional therapy (LRT) should be performed in patients with de novo metastatic breast cancer (dnMBC) has been debated. Here we report the survival outcomes of LRT in patients with dnMBC, focusing on the association of surgical timings and surgical margins with survival in this patient population. Methods: The retrospective study included patients with dnMBC in our hospital, between March 1, 2007 and December 31, 2017. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated by means of a stratified log-rank test and summarized with the use of Kaplan–Meier methods. Results: A total of 153 patients were included, of whom 87 underwent LRT and 66 systemic therapy alone (STA). LRT showed a significant OS benefit over STA (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.39 to 0.99; P  =  .043). The OS of LRT group and STA group were 39 months (95% CI, 33.6 to 44.4 months) and 24.6 months (95% CI, 20.6 to 28.6 months), respectively. The benefit was consistent across most subgroups. The OS of patients undergoing surgery was better than that of patients without surgery (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.94; P  =  .0001), and there was difference in survival improvement at different surgical timings (surgery before chemotherapy, during chemotherapy, and after chemotherapy) (P  =  .0001). The survival benefit of surgery after chemotherapy was significantly greater than that of the other 2 options (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.94). Moreover, compared with patients with positive margins, the OS of patients with negative margins was significantly improved (HR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.37; P < .001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that LRT is associated with improved OS in women with dnMBC, and patients who had surgery after systemic chemotherapy with negative surgical margins, are expected to benefit more.

Prognostic factors and survival according to tumour subtype in women presenting with breast cancer bone metastases at initial diagnosis: a SEER-based study

Background

Tumour subtype has a significant effect on bone metastasis in breast cancer, but population-based estimates of the prognosis of patients with bone metastases at breast cancer diagnosis are lacking. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of tumour subtype and other factors on the prognosis and survival of patients with bone metastases of breast cancer.

Methods

Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program data from 2012 to 2016, a retrospective cohort study was conducted to investigate stage IV breast cancer patients with bone metastases. Stage IV patient characteristics according to subtype were compared using chi-square tests. Overall survival (OS) and prognostic factors were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model, respectively.

Results

A total of 3384 stage IV patients were included in this study; 63.42% were HR+/HER2-, 19.86% were HR+/HER2+, 9.34% were HR−/HER2-, and 7.39% were HR−/HER2+. The median OS for the whole population was 38 months, and 33.9% of the patients were alive at 5 years. The median OS and five-year survival rate were significantly different among stage IV breast cancer patients with different molecular subtypes (p < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age of 55–59 (HR = 1.270), black race (HR = 1.317), grade III or IV (HR = 1.960), HR−/HER2- (HR = 2.808), lung metastases (HR = 1.378), liver metastases (HR = 2.085), and brain metastases (HR = 1.903) were independent risk factors for prognosis; married status (HR = 0.819), HR+/HER2+ (HR = 0.631), HR−/HER2+ (HR = 0.716), insurance (HR = 0.587) and surgery (HR = 0.504) were independent protection factors of prognosis. There was an interaction between the HR+/HER2+ subtype and other metastases (except bone metastases, HR = 0.694, 95% CI: 0.485–0.992), but the interaction between race and subtype did not reach significance for prognosis.

Conclusions

There were substantial differences in OS according to tumour subtype. In addition to tumour subtype, other independent predictors of OS were age at diagnosis, race, marital status, insurance, grade, surgery and visceral metastases. There was an interaction between the HR+/HER2+ subtype and other metastases (except bone metastases) for prognosis. Tumour subtype, as a significant prognostic factor, warrants further investigation.

Is there a role for locoregional treatment of the primary tumor in de novo metastatic breast cancer in the era of tailored therapies?: Evidences, unresolved questions and a practical algorithm

Improvements in systemic therapies have changed the face of de novo metastatic breast cancer (dnMBC), with a 5-year survival rate exceeding 25 %. Increasing evidence suggests that a subset of patients could benefit from a locoregional treatment (LRT) with prolonged survival, although the diversity of publications on the subject make it difficult to draw any conclusions. In this review, we summarize the available data on retrospective, prospective and current ongoing clinical trials. Since factors such as tumor biology, pattern of metastatic dissemination and the timing of the treatment are closely linked to the therapeutic strategy, we focus on papers which include these aspects. We discuss recent studies indicating that exclusive radiotherapy provides results comparable with those obtained by surgery. We will then discuss the biological rationale for LRT. Finally, we propose a decision-tree to select the optimal candidates for LRT in dnMBC patients.