Long-term primary results of accelerated partial breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery for early-stage breast cancer: a randomised, phase 3, equivalence trial

Publication date: Available online 5 December 2019Source: The LancetAuthor(s): Frank A Vicini, Reena S Cecchini, Julia R White, Douglas W Arthur, Thomas B Julian, Rachel A Rabinovitch, Robert R Kuske, Patricia A Ganz, David S Parda, Michael F Scheier, Kathryn A Winter, Soonmyung Paik, Henry M Kuerer, Laura A Vallow, Lori J Pierce, Eleftherios P Mamounas, Beryl McCormick, Joseph P Costantino, Harry D Bear, Isabelle GermainSummaryBackgroundWhole-breast irradiation after breast-conserving surgery for patients with early-stage breast cancer decreases ipsilateral breast-tumour recurrence (IBTR), yielding comparable results to mastectomy. It is unknown whether accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) to only the tumour-bearing quadrant, which shortens treatment duration, is equally effective. In our trial, we investigated whether APBI provides equivalent local tumour control after lumpectomy compared with whole-breast irradiation.MethodsWe did this randomised, phase 3, equivalence trial (NSABP B-39/RTOG 0413) in 154 clinical centres in the USA, Canada, Ireland, and Israel. Adult women (>18 years) with early-stage (0, I, or II; no evidence of distant metastases, but up to three axillary nodes could be positive) breast cancer (tumour size ≤3 cm; including all histologies and multifocal breast cancers), who had had lumpectomy with negative (ie, no detectable cancer cells) surgical margins, were randomly assigned (1:1) using a biased-coin-based minimisation algorithm to receive ...
Source: The Lancet - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research