Surgery for primary tumor benefits survival for breast cancer patients with bone metastases: a large cohort retrospective study

Navigating Breast Cancer Oligometastasis and Oligoprogression: Current Landscape and Future Directions

PURPOSE

We examine the potential for curative approaches among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients by exploring the recent literature on local ablative therapies like surgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with oligometastatic (OM) breast cancer. We also cover therapies for MBC patients with oligoprogressive (OP) disease.

KEY FINDINGS

Surgery and SBRT have been studied for OM and OP breast cancer, mainly in retrospective or non-randomized trials. While many studies demonstrated favorable results, a cooperative study and single-institution trial found no support for surgery/SBRT in OM and OP cases, respectively.

CONCLUSION

While there is interest in applying local therapies to OM and OP breast cancer, the current randomized data does not back the routine use of surgery or SBRT, particularly when considering the potential for treatment-related toxicities. Future research should refine patient selection through advanced imaging and possibly explore these therapies specifically in patients with hormone receptor-positive or HER2-positive disease.

A visualized model for identifying optimal candidates for aggressive locoregional surgical treatment in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer

Background

The impact of surgical resection of primary (PTR) on the survival of breast cancer (BC) patients with bone metastasis (BM) has been preliminarily investigated, but it remains unclear which patients are suitable for this procedure. Finally, this study aims to develop a predictive model to screen BC patients with BM who would benefit from local surgery.

Methods

BC patients with BM were identified using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2010 and 2015), and 39 patients were obtained for external validation from an Asian medical center. According to the status of local surgery, patients were divided into Surgery and Non-surgery groups. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to reduce selection bias. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival and Cox regression analyses were conducted before and after PSM to study the survival difference between the two groups. The survival outcome and treatment modality were also investigated in patients with different metastatic patterns. The logistic regression analyses were utilized to determine significant surgery-benefit-related predictors, develop a screening nomogram and its online version, and quantify the beneficial probability of local surgery for BC patients with BM. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the area under the curves (AUC), and calibration curves were plotted to evaluate the predictive performance and calibration of this model, whereas decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to assess its clinical usefulness.

Results

This study included 5,625 eligible patients, of whom 2,133 (37.92%) received surgical resection of primary lesions. K-M survival analysis and Cox regression analysis demonstrated that local surgery was independently associated with better survival. Surgery provided significant survival benefits in most subgroups and metastatic patterns. After PSM, patients who received surgery had a longer survival time (OS: 46 months vs. 32 months, p < 0.001; CSS: 50 months vs. 34 months, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis determined six significant surgery-benefit-related variables: T stage, radiotherapy, race, liver metastasis, brain metastasis, and breast subtype. These factors were combined to establish the nomogram and a web probability calculator (https://sunshine1.shinyapps.io/DynNomapp/), with an AUC of 0.673 in the training cohort and an AUC of 0.640 in the validation cohort. The calibration curves exhibited excellent agreement. DCA indicated that the nomogram was clinically useful. Based on this model, surgery patients were assigned into two subsets: estimated sur-non-benefit and estimated sur-benefit. Patients in the estimated sur-benefit subset were associated with longer survival (median OS: 64 months vs. 33 months, P < 0.001). Besides, there was no difference in survival between the estimated sur-non-benefit subset and the non-surgery group.

Conclusion

Our study further confirmed the significance of local surgery in BC patients with BM and proposed a novel tool to identify optimal surgical candidates.

Novel Nomograms and Web-Based Tools Predicting Overall Survival and Cancer-specific Survival of Solitary Plasmacytoma of the Spine

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to establish nomograms for predicting overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with solitary plasmacytoma of the spine (SPS).

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

SPS is a rare type of malignant spinal tumor. A systematic study of prognostic factors associated with survival can provide guidance to clinicians and patients. Consideration of other causes of death (OCOD) in CSS will improve clinical practicability.

METHODS

A total of 1078 patients extracted from the SEER database between 2000 and 2018 were analyzed. Patients were grouped into training and testing data sets (7:3). Factors associated with OS and CSS were identified by Cox regression and competing risk regression, respectively, for the establishment of nomograms on a training data set. The testing data set was used for the external validation of the performance of the nomograms using calibration curves, Brier's scores, C-indexes, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

RESULTS

Age and grade were identified as factors associated with both OS and CSS, along with marital status, radiation for OS, and chemotherapy for CSS. Heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus were found to be the 3 most common causes of OCOD. The nomograms showed satisfactory agreement on calibration plots for both training and testing data sets. Integrated Brier score, C-index, and overall area under the curve on the testing data set were 0.162/0.717/0.789 and 0.173/0.709/0.756 for OS and CSS, respectively. DCA curves showed a good clinical net benefit. Nomogram-based web tools were developed for clinical application.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence for risk factors and prognostication of survival in SPS patients. The novel nomograms and web-based tools we developed demonstrated good performance and might serve as accessory tools for clinical decision-making and SPS management.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3.

Locoregional treatment of de novo stage IV breast cancer in the era of modern oncology

Approximately 6% of metastatic breast cancers arise de novo. While systemic therapy (ST) remains the treatment backbone as for patients with metachronous metastases, locoregional treatment (LRT) of the primary tumor remains a controversial method. The removal of the primary has an established role for palliative purposes, but it is unclear if it could also determine a survival benefit. Retrospective evidence and pre-clinical studies seem to support the removal of the primary as an effective approach to improve survival. On the other hand, most randomized evidence suggests avoiding LRT. Both retrospective and prospective studies suffer several limitations, ranging from selection bias and outdated ST to a small sample of patients. In this review we discuss available data and try to identify subgroups of patients which could benefit the most from LRT of the primary, to facilitate clinical practice decisions, and to hypothesize future studies design on this topic.

Risk stratification system and visualized dynamic nomogram constructed for predicting diagnosis and prognosis in rare male breast cancer patients with bone metastases

Background

Bone metastases (BM) from malignant tumors could disrupt the balance between osteoclasts and osteoblasts and affect bone homeostasis. Malignant breast cancer (BC) is rare in male patients, and co-occurrence of BM is even rarer. Given its low incidence, there is limited research evaluating risk and prognosis. Despite the widespread application of nomograms to predict uncommon malignancies, no studies have constructed predictive models focusing on the diagnosis and prognosis of male breast cancer with bone metastases (MBCBM).

Methods

This study selected all male breast cancer patients (MBC) between 2010 and 2019 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We used simple and multivariate Logistic regression analyses to identify independent risk factors for BM in MBC patients. Then simple and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to determine the independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in MBCBM patients. We established and validated three new nomograms based on these independent factors.

Result

A total of 4187 MBC patients were included, with 191 (4.56%) having bone metastases at the time of diagnosis. The independent risk factors of BM in MBC patients included age, tumor size, marital status, T stage, and N stage. In MBCBM patients, independent prognostic factors for OS and CSS were both age, T stage, ER status, PR status, and surgery. The concordance index (C-index), the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), the calibration curve, and the decision curve analysis (DCA) confirmed that these three nomograms could accurately predict the diagnosis and prognosis of MBCBM patients with excellent discrimination and clinical utility superior to the TNM staging system. We then established two prognostic-based risk stratification systems and three visualized dynamic nomograms that could be applied in clinical practice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study aimed to establish and validate an accurate novel nomogram to objectively predict the diagnosis and prognosis of MBCBM patients. On this basis, prognostic-based risk stratification systems and visualized dynamic nomograms were constructed to facilitate doctors and patients to quantify individual BM risk probability and survival probability to assist in personalized risk assessment and clinical decision-making.

Exploring the Value of Additional Primary Tumour Excision Combined with Systemic Therapy Administered in Different Sequences for Patients with de Novo Metastatic Breast Cancer

Introduction

Uncertainty still remains regarding the survival improvement derived from immediate surgery or subsequent surgery in addition to systemic therapy for patients with de novo metastatic breast cancer. The current study aimed to examine the effect of combined treatment administered in different sequences on the survival of these patients.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with de novo stage IV breast cancer in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2010 to 2019. Patients were categorized into 3 groups: (1) systemic therapy without primary surgery, (2) systemic therapy after primary surgery, and (3) systemic therapy before primary surgery. Cumulative incidence curves with Gray's test were used to compare breast cancer-specific death (BCSD) between groups. Kaplan–Meier curves with the log-rank test were applied to compare overall survival (OS) between groups. A competing risk model and a proportional hazards model were generated to adjust for important prognostic factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed in the primary survival analysis. Stratified analysis was also performed.

Results

Patients who underwent systemic therapy after primary surgery and who underwent systemic therapy before primary surgery both showed a significantly reduced risk of BCSD compared to patients who received systemic therapy without primary surgery [subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR): 0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69–0.79; and P < 0.001, and SHR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.56–0.67; and P < 0.001, respectively]. A statistically significant disparity was also noted in OS. In the setting of single-organ metastasis, including the bone, lung, and liver, patients receiving the combination therapy showed an improved prognosis compared with patients receiving systemic therapy without primary surgery.

Conclusions

Additional primary tumour excision, whether before or after systemic therapy, may provide survival benefits for patients presenting with de novo metastatic breast cancer, especially for patients with single-organ disease involving the bone, lung, and liver but not the brain. Further investigations mainly focused on these carefully selected candidates are required to improve personalized treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

Individualized assessment of risk and overall survival in patients newly diagnosed with primary osseous spinal neoplasms with synchronous distant metastasis

Background

The prognosis of patients with primary osseous spinal neoplasms (POSNs) presented with distant metastases (DMs) is still poor. This study aimed to evaluate the independent risk and prognostic factors in this population and then develop two web-based models to predict the probability of DM in patients with POSNs and the overall survival (OS) rate of patients with DM.

Methods

The data of patients with POSNs diagnosed between 2004 and 2017 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate logistics regression analyses were used to study the risk factors of DM. Based on independent DM-related variables, we developed a diagnostic nomogram to estimate the risk of DM in patients with POSNs. Among all patients with POSNs, those who had synchronous DM were included in the prognostic cohort for investigating the prognostic factors by using Cox regression analysis, and then a nomogram incorporating predictors was developed to predict the OS of patients with POSNs with DM. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival analysis was conducted to study the survival difference. In addition, validation of these nomograms were performed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the area under curves (AUCs), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

A total of 1345 patients with POSNs were included in the study, of which 238 cases (17.70%) had synchronous DM at the initial diagnosis. K-M survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that patients with DM had poorer prognosis. Grade, T stage, N stage, and histological type were found to be significantly associated with DM in patients with POSNs. Age, surgery, and histological type were identified as independent prognostic factors of patients with POSNs with DM. Subsequently, two nomograms and their online versions (https://yxyx.shinyapps.io/RiskofDMin/ and https://yxyx.shinyapps.io/SurvivalPOSNs/) were developed. The results of ROC curves, calibration curves, DCA, and K-M survival analysis together showed the excellent predictive accuracy and clinical utility of these newly proposed nomograms.

Conclusion

We developed two well-validated nomograms to accurately quantify the probability of DM in patients with POSNs and predict the OS rate in patients with DM, which were expected to be useful tools to facilitate individualized clinical management of these patients.

Construction and Validation of New Nomograms to Predict Risk and Prognostic Factors of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis in Asian Females: A Population-Based Retrospective Study

Purpose

To construct a breast cancer bone-only metastasis (BCBM) risk and prognostic model for Asian females and provide a reference for treatment selection in breast cancer (BC) patients with bone-only metastasis (BM).

Patients and Methods

The data for newly diagnosed female patients of Asian Pacific Islander (API) ethnicity between 2010 and 2018 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. A total of 16,972 patients were identified. Logistic regression analyses were used to establish a risk model for BCBM. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to construct nomograms for the prognosis of BC and BCBM. Subsequently, the degree of discrimination of the nomogram was evaluated using the consistency index (C-index) and receiver operating curve.

Results

The main independent risk factors of BM in Asian females with BC were primary site surgery (p<0.0001), ER (p=0.0015), and T-stage (p=0.0046). The C-index values in the training and validation cohorts were 0.933 and 0.941, respectively. The main independent risk factors of the prognosis of BC were age (p<0.001), summary stage (p<0.001), and grade (p=0.002). The C-index values of 5-year overall survival (OS) in the training and validation cohorts were 0.823 and 0.804, respectively. The risk factors of the prognosis of Asian females with BCBM were subtype (p<0.001), histology (p<0.001), and grade (p=0.033). The C-index values of 5-year OS in the training and validation cohorts were 0.793 and 0.723, respectively.

Conclusion

Using population-based analysis, this study constructed a prediction model for the risk and prognosis of BM in Asian females with BC. Another newly constructed model was effective in predicting OS in BCBM patients. These models can help prevent skeletal-related events and weigh the risks and benefits of surgery for metastatic lesions in BCBM patients.