C. Weltens MD, PhD

Repeat breast-conserving therapy in breast cancer

SUMMARY

Primary treatment of preference for a local or locoregional breast cancer is breast-conserving therapy (this is breast-conserving surgery followed by radiation therapy). When a breast cancer recurs, or in case of a second ipsilateral breast cancer, the optimal treatment strategy is less well defined than in the primary setting. Standard of care is salvage mastectomy. However, avoidance of mastectomy, if oncologically safe, has proven to be associated with improved patient satisfaction in terms of cosmetic outcome and quality of life apart from cost and resource implications for healthcare providers. With this manuscript, the Belgian Breast Group of the BeSTRO sets up some basic principles regarding repeat breast-conserving therapy awaiting international guidelines.

(BELG J MED ONCOL 2024;18(6):235-238)

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How to sequence systemic therapies and radiotherapy in early breast cancer?

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women in the Western world. Over the last decades, the use of postoperative systemic therapies (chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, trastuzumab) and radiotherapy led to significant survival benefits for patients with early breast cancer. Although these modalities have been extensively studied and used, a major question is how these systemic therapies are optimally sequenced with radiotherapy in the adjuvant setting. This article reviews available data on how to combine systemic therapies with radiotherapy in women with early stage breast cancer, and provides recommendations that unfortunately do not reach level I evidence due to insufficient quality of available clinical data.

BELG J MED ONCOL 2014;8(3):72–80

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