Abstract P2-04-01: Increased stromal lymphocytes in breast cancer patients with autologous dendritic cell vaccination plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy

This study evaluates patient-reported arm symptoms in women treated with HF compared to conventional fractionation (CF) RT (defined as ≤2Gy/fraction).Materials / Methods: Provincial cancer registries were used to identify subjects who received 3D, CT-planned nodal RT for pT1-3 pN0-2 M0 breast cancer from 2007-2009 in British Columbia and 2008 – 2010 in Alberta, Canada. Treatment eras were selected to enable sufficient follow-up time to develop late arm symptoms. Following research ethics approval, eligible patients were mailed an explanation letter and an externally validated, Self-reported Arm Symptom Scale (SASS) survey. The SASS included 8 questions about arm symptoms, with responses on a 5-point Likert scale regarding arm/hand problems (numbness, pain, stiffness, immobility and swelling), and 5 questions related to activities of daily living (ADL). Clinicopathologic characteristics and SASS scores were compared between HF vs. CF nodal RT cohorts using non-parametric analysis (on ordinal and scale responses) and binned chi-squared analysis (comparison for responses of 1 vs.> 1).Results: 800/1759 eligible patients returned a completed survey (45.5%). Upon detailed chart review of responders, 92 cases with recurrence or metastasis were excluded. The remaining 708 cases formed the study cohort. Of these, 406 (57%) patients received HF RT (modal dose/fractionation 40 Gy/15 fractions (fx) and 45 Gy/20 fx), and 302 (43%) received CF RT (45 Gy/25 fx, 48-50 Gy/25 fx, and 50.4 ...
Source: Cancer Research - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Poster Session Abstracts Source Type: research