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A population-based study of the impact of delaying radiotherapy after conservative surgery for breast cancer

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Abstract

Background. Practice guidelines have set a maximum waiting time to radiation therapy for breast cancer. We evaluated if delaying radiotherapy resulted in worse outcomes in a large cohort of women with node-negative breast cancer.

Methods. We selected a random sample of cases among women diagnosed with localized breast cancer in five regions of Québec, Canada, between 1988 and 1994. Only women with pathologically (n=926) or clinically (n=136) negative axillary nodes, and stage 1 or 2 disease treated with conservative surgery and radiotherapy were eligible. Information was obtained by chart review, queries to physicians and linkage with administrative databases. Outcomes were estimated by Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards analysis. Median follow-up was 7.1years (range: 0.9–11.8).

Results. Median delay to radiotherapy was 12.4weeks in those who received chemotherapy and 8.4weeks in others. Overall survival at 7years was 85.6%. Local relapse-free and distant disease-free survivals were 77.6 and 76.2%. There was no significant difference in survival according to delay to radiotherapy in crude or multivariate analysis adjusting for several prognostic factors, including systemic␣treatment. The risk of local failure conditional on survival in women who received radiotherapy more than 12weeks after surgery was increased (hazard ratio: 1.75, 95% confidence interval: 1.00, 3.08, p-value=0.052).

Conclusions. Although longer waiting time to radiotherapy may compromise local control, it does not influence survival at 7years when other predictors of outcomes are taken into account. Well controlled studies are needed to confirm and better characterize this relationship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Direction des systèmes de soins et services, Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Canada

    Nicole Hébert-croteau

  2. Programme d'oncologie, Hôpital Charles LeMoyne, Greenfield Park(

    Nicole Hébert-croteau & Jean Latreille

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montréal

    Carolyn R. Freeman

  4. Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Université de Montréal, Montréal

    Michèle Rivard

  5. Direction des systèmes de soins et services, Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Canada

    Jacques Brisson

  6. Unité de recherche en santé des populations, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Québec

    Jacques Brisson

  7. Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Université Laval, Québec, Canada

    Jacques Brisson

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  1. Nicole Hébert-croteau
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  4. Michèle Rivard
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Hébert-croteau, N., Freeman, C.R., Latreille, J. et al. A population-based study of the impact of delaying radiotherapy after conservative surgery for breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 88, 187–196 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-004-0594-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-004-0594-7

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