This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Survival improved with removal of primary breast tumors in metastatic disease
ECCO 15 – ESMO 34 Multidisciplinary Congress
Surgical removal of primary tumors in patients with metastatic breast cancer was associated with a 40% reduction in mortality risk, according to the findings of a retrospective study presented at the ECCO 15 – ESMO 34 Multidisciplinary Congress, held in Berlin.
Jetske Ruiterkamp, MD, a surgical resident at Jeroen Bosch Hospital in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, and colleagues, analyzed data from 728 patients with distant metastatic disease at initial presentation. Forty percent had surgical removal of the primary tumor.
Median survival was longer in patients who had surgery (31 months) compared with those who did not (14 months). Also, the five-year survival rate was 24.5% in patients who had tumors surgically removed; whereas, it was 13.1% in patients who did not have surgery (P<.0001).
Surgery remained an independent prognostic factor of OS (HR=0.62; 95% CI, 0.51-0.76) after adjustment for variables, including age, period of diagnosis, T-classification, number of metastatic sites, comorbidity, use of loco-regional radiotherapy and use of systemic therapy.
“The research we did and other studies conducted on this subject are retrospective; therefore, we need to perform a randomized controlled trial to give us a more definitive answer as to whether surgery of primary breast tumors in stage IV disease has any benefit for survival,” Ruiterkamp said during a press conference.
For more information:
Read more from the ECCO 15 – ESMO 24 Congress>>
