Is adjuvant chemotherapy necessary in older patients with breast cancer?

Background Due to the lack of clinical trials on the efficacy of chemotherapy in older patients, an optimal treatment strategy has not been developed. We investigated whether adjuvant chemotherapy could improve the survival of older patients with breast cancer in Japan. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data of patients with breast cancer aged ≥ 70 years who underwent breast cancer surgery in eight hospitals between 2008 and 2013. Clinical treatment and follow-up data were obtained from the patients’ medical electric records. Results A total of 1095 patients were enrolled, of which 905 were included in the initial non-matched analysis. The median age and follow-up period were 75 (range 70–93) and 6.3 years, respectively. Of these patients, 127 (14%) received adjuvant chemotherapy (Chemo group) while the remaining 778 (86%) did not (Control group). The Chemo group was younger (mean age in years 73 vs 76; P < 0.0001), had a larger pathological tumor size (mean mm 25.9 vs 19.9; P < 0.0001), and more metastatic axillary lymph nodes (mean numbers 2.7 vs 0.7; P < 0.0001) than the Control group. The disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) did not differ significantly between the two groups (P = 0.783 and P = 0.558). After matched analyses, DFS was found to be significantly prolonged with adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.037); however, OS difference in the matched cohort was not statistically significant (P = 0.333). Conclusion The results showed that adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a reduced risk of recurrence, but survival benefits were limited.

Effect of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Stage III Cervical Cancer Patients Treated With Concurrent Chemoradiation: A Multicenter Study

Introduction: A significant proportion of cervical cancer (CC) patients are diagnosed at a locally advanced stage. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the cornerstone of treatment for patients with locally advanced CC. However, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) after CCRT is controversial. In this study, we analyzed the efficacy of AC after CCRT in stage III CC patients. Methods: We performed a multicenter, retrospective analysis of 139 FIGO stage III CC patients treated with CCRT of whom 45.3% received AC. Our goal was to determine the impact of AC on survival in these patients. Results: Five-year progression-free survival was 37.5% and 16% in patients receiving CCRT with and without AC, respectively (p=0.008). Median PFS was 30.9 months (CI 95 %14.8-46.9) and 16.6 months (CI 95% 9.3-23.9) in patients receiving CCRT with and without AC, respectively. Five-year overall survival was 78.2% and 28.4% in patients receiving CCRT with and without AC, respectively (p<0.001). Median OS was 132.2 months (CI 95, %66.5-197.8) and 34.9 months (CI 95% 23.1-46.7) in patients receiving CCRT with and in without AC, respectively. Conclusion: Our study suggests that AC provides OS and PFS benefit in stage III CC patients. Larger studies are needed to identify subgroups of patients who would benefit from AC.

Pancreatic metastasis of invasive ductal breast carcinoma: A potential diagnostic pitfall

The 42-year-old patient, diagnosed with Stage IIA breast cancer, completed the postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. At the 11th year of diagnosis, a 3 cm tumor was detected in the pancreas and pancreatectomy was performed. Although the diagnosis of primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma was made at first, then the pancreatic metastasis of breast cancer was discovered. Pancreatic metastasis of breast cancer is extremely rare, and a limited number of patients have been reported in the literature. Here, we report an additional case of this rare tumor and the problems correlating with its diagnosis.

Postoperative Adjuvant Chemotherapy Cancel Out the Negative Survival Impact on Stage II/III Gastric Cancer Patients With Postoperative Complications

Purpose The potential additive influence of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on prognosis of patients with stage II/III gastric cancer (GC) who experienced complications after radical surgery is unclear.Methods The whole group was divided into a postoperative complication (PC) group and a postoperative non-complication (NPC) group, and the overall survival (OS) rate, recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate and recurrence rate were compared between the two groups of patients. Results A total of 1563 patients between January 2010 and December 2015 in our center were included in this analysis. There were 268 patients (17.14%) in the PC group and 1295 patients (82.86%) in the NPC group. The 5-year OS rate of the PC group was 55.2%, the NPC group was 63.3%; and the 5-year RFS rate of the PC group was 53.7%, the non-PC group was 58.8%. Recurrence patterns showed no significant difference between the two group (all p>0.05). Adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) significantly improved the OS and RFS rates of patients with and without PCs (both p<0.05), and it showed no significant difference between the PC group and the NPC group who received AC (both p> 0.05). Stratified analysis showed that AC only improve the OS or RFS rates of stage III patients (both p<0.05). Further stratified analysis of the time interval (TI) from operation to initiation of AC in the PC group showed that a TI after 6 weeks (≥6eeks) improved only the OS and RFS rates of stage III patients, while when a TI within 6 weeks (＜6weeks), a benefit was observed in stage II and III patients (both p<0.05).Conclusion AC can abolish the negative effect of PCs on the long-term survival of patients with stage III GC; for stage II patients, the above offset effect is affected by the TI. Delaying AC initiation after 6 weeks may not improve the survival of patients experienced stage II GC with complications.

Therapeutic Challenges in Patients with Gynecologic Carcinosarcomas: Analysis of a Multicenter National Cohort Study from the French Prospective TMRG Network

Background: Gynecological carcinosarcomas are rare and aggressive diseases, with a poor prognosis. The rarity of these tumors explains the lack of robust and specific data available in the literature. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of initial adjuvant treatment and recurrent therapeutic strategies. Patients and methods: A multicentric cohort study within the French national prospective Rare Malignant Gynecological Tumors (TMRG) network was conducted. Data from all included carcinosarcomas diagnosed between 2011 and 2018 were retrospectively collected. Results: 425 cases of uterine and ovarian carcinosarcomas (n = 313 and n = 112, respectively) were collected and analyzed from 12 participating centers. At diagnosis, 140 patients (48%) had a FIGO stage III–IV uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS) and 88 patients (83%) had an advanced ovarian carcinosarcoma (OCS) (FIGO stage ≥ III). Two hundred sixty-seven patients (63%) received adjuvant chemotherapy, most preferably carboplatin-paclitaxel regimen (n = 227, 86%). After a median follow-up of 47.4 months, the median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 15.1 months (95% CI 12.3–20.6) and 14.8 months (95% CI 13.1–17.1) for OCS and UCS, respectively. The median overall survival for OCS and UCS was 37.1 months (95% CI 22.2–49.2) and 30.6 months (95% CI 24.1–40.9), respectively. With adjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, mPFS was 41.0 months (95% CI 17.0–NR) and 18.9 months (95% CI 14.0–45.6) for UCS stages I–II and stages III–IV, respectively. In the early stage UCS subgroup (i.e., stage IA, n = 86, 30%), mPFS for patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 24) was not reached (95% CI 22.2–NR), while mPFS for untreated patients (n = 62) was 19.9 months (95% IC 13.9–72.9) (HR 0.44 (0.20–0.95) p = 0.03). At the first relapse, median PFS for all patients was 4.2 months (95% CI 3.5–5.3). In the first relapse, mPFS was 6.7 months (95% CI 5.1–8.5) and 2.2 months (95% CI 1.9–2.9) with a combination of chemotherapy or monotherapy, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Interestingly, this vast prospective cohort of gynecological carcinosarcoma patients from the French national Rare Malignant Gynecological Tumors network (i) highlights the positive impact of adjuvant CT on survival in all localized stages (including FIGO IA uterine carcinosarcomas), (ii) confirms the importance of platinum-based combination as an option for relapse setting, and (iii) reports median PFS for various therapeutic strategies in the relapse setting.

The Value of Perioperative Chemotherapy for Patients With Hepatoid Adenocarcinoma of the Stomach Undergoing Radical Gastrectomy

BackgroundHepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach (HAS) is a rare type of gastric cancer, but the role of perioperative chemotherapy is still poorly understood. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the associations between perioperative chemotherapy and prognosis of HAS.MethodWe retrospectively analyzed patients with locally advanced HAS who received radical surgery in Peking University Cancer Hospital between November 2009 and October 2020. Patients were divided into neoadjuvant chemotherapy-first (NAC-first) group and surgery-first group. The relationships between perioperative chemotherapy and prognosis of HAS were analyzed using univariate, multivariate survival analyses and propensity score matching analysis (PSM).ResultsA total of 100 patients were included for analysis, including 29 in the NAC-first group and 71 in the surgery-first group. The Her-2 amplification in HAS patients was 22.89% (19/83). For NAC-first group, 4 patients were diagnosed as tumor recession grade 1 (TRG1), 4 patients as TRG 2, and 19 patients as TRG 3. No significant difference in prognosis between the surgery-first group and the NAC-first group (P=0.108) was found using PSM analysis. In the surgery-first group, we found that the survival rate was better in group of ≥6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy than that of &lt;6 cycles (P=0.013).ConclusionNAC based on platinum and fluorouracil may not improve the Overall survival (OS) and Disease-free survival time (DFS) of patients with locally advanced HAS. Patients who received ≥6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy had better survival. Therefore, the combination treatment of radical gastrectomy and sufficient adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for patients with locally advanced HAS.

Prognosis and adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with positive peritoneal cytology in stage IA endometrial cancer

This study evaluated the influence of positive peritoneal cytology (PPC) on the prognosis of patients with stage IA endometrial cancer, and the usefulness of adjuvant chemotherapy in their treatment. We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with stage IA endometrial cancer admitted in our hospital between 2005 and 2015. Among 989 patients who underwent peritoneal cytology, 135 (13.7%) had PPC. Multivariate analysis extracted several independent risk factors for recurrence in stage IA patients, including those with PPC. Adjuvant chemotherapy did not cause a significant difference in the 5-year relapse-free survival rate in patients with PPC (p = 0.78). Similarly, the 5-year recurrence-free survival rate with or without chemotherapy was not different among type II cancer patients (p = 0.11). However, the baseline risk of 5-year relapse-free survival without chemotherapy in patients with PPC and type II was very low (66.7%). While PPC was an independent risk factor for recurrence in stage IA endometrial cancer, adjuvant chemotherapy did not influence the survival rate in patients with PPC. While it is controversial whether adjuvant chemotherapy should be administered in stage IA uterine cancer with only PPC as a prognostic factor, it should be considered for early-stage patients who have multiple risk factors for recurrence.