Does postmastectomy radiation reduce mortality in women with stage T1–2 node-positive breast cancer?
Ruth Heimann
Correspondence University of Vermont, Department of Radiation Oncology, 111 Colchester Avenue, Shepardson 2, Burlington, VT 05401, USA
Email ruth.heimann@uvm.edu
This article has no abstract so we have provided the first paragraph of the full text.
Two randomized trials, performed in Denmark1 and Canada,2 have shown a survival benefit of approximately 10% in node-positive breast cancer patients receiving postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) in addition to chemotherapy. Since the publication of these studies, there has been an ongoing controversy regarding the subset of patients who benefit from PMRT. There is good agreement regarding the benefit if more than three nodes are positive or the tumor is >5 cm in diameter. The question now being debated is whether patients with 1–3 positive nodes also benefit. Both studies included any node-positive women. A randomized trial in the US, which addressed the role of PMRT in patients with 1–3 positive nodes, closed owing to lack of accrual. So what is one to recommend to a 45-year-old woman with a 4.5 cm tumor and three positive nodes?
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