Adjuvant radiation therapy after lumpectomy improves survival for elderly women with early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).  The research was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Breast Cancer Symposium 2015 by Sean Szeja and Sandra S. Hatch from University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, TX.

Limited data exists to guide treatment decision-making for elderly women with TNBC. Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of the effect of adjuvant radiation therapy on survival of elderly women with early-stage TNBC who underwent lumpectomy.

From 2010-2011, 974 women ages 70 and above with T1-2N0M0 TNBC who underwent lumpectomy were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) database.  Of those, 662 (68%) received adjuvant radiation therapy.

At 23 months after diagnosis, 98.2% of women who received lumpectomy and radiation were alive, compared to 85.6% of those who received lumpectomy alone (p<0.001). Breast cancer-related deaths were more common in the lumpectomy only group (6%) compared to the lumpectomy and radiation group (1%).

When other factors were considered, such as age, tumor size, and other treatment descriptions, the use of adjuvant radiation was associated with an overall six-fold decrease in any death, as well as death from breast cancer. Nonetheless, the authors note that the difference in survival observed between those who did and did not receive adjuvant radiation could be explained by other factors, such as use of adjuvant chemotherapy.

"This study suggests that adjuvant radiation therapy may benefit some elderly patients with breast cancer, but a prospective study will be needed to guide treatment decisions," said ASCO Expert Harold J. Burstein, M.D., Ph.D., FASCO. "When selecting treatments for elderly patients, we need to be particularly careful about weighing the benefits and risks."

The authors note that a future prospective study is needed to define the management of early-stage TNBC.