In a nutshell
This study questioned the benefit of adding chemotherapy to postoperative hormonal treatment in the case of lobular breast cancer. Their findings were that chemotherapy seems to offer no additional beneficial effects in women with lobular breast cancer receiving hormonal therapy.
Some background
There are two main types of breast cancer: lobular and ductal. Lobular carcinoma (LC) originates in the lobules (milk-producing glands) of the breast gland. Ductal carcinoma (DC) originates in the milk ducts. As tumors develop, they become “invasive”, meaning that they grow in size and infiltrate deeper into the tissues of the breast. Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) is the most common form of breast cancer. Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) accounts for 5-10% of all cases of breast cancer. Determining the tumor type is very important because it allows the oncologist to individualize treatment.
Methods & findings
The study included postmenopausal women (aged 50-70), of which 19,609 had DC and 3685 had LC, who were followed-up for about 10 years after therapy. All patients had surgery and thereafter divided in two groups: one group received hormonal therapy only (i.e. Tamoxifen) and the other received hormonal therapy and chemotherapy. The main finding was that for LC, chemotherapy does not improve 10-year survival rates (68% hormonal therapy versus 66% hormonal and chemotherapy), whereas for DC it improved overall survival rate from 69% to 74%.
The bottom line
In summary, chemotherapy was not found to improve survival in patients with LC treated with hormonal therapy.
The fine print
Since chemotherapy has many risks, having an accurate pathology report and determining precisely which patients will benefit from it is critical.
Published By :
Annals of oncology
Date :
Nov 01, 2012
