Are we meeting the informational needs of cancer patients and families? Perception of physician communication in pediatric oncology.

BACKGROUND: High-quality oncology care is marked by skillful communication, yet little is known about patient and family communication perceptions or content preferences. Our study sought to elicit pediatric oncology patient and parent perceptions of early cancer communication to establish whether informational needs were met and identify opportunities for enhanced communication throughout cancer care. METHOD: An original survey instrument was developed, pretested, and administered to 129 patients, age 10-18 years, and their parents at 3 cancer centers between 2011 and 2015. Statistical analysis of survey items about perceived communication, related associations, and patient/parent concordance was performed. RESULTS: A greater percentage of participants reported "a lot" of discussion about the physical impact of cancer (patients, 58.1% [n = 75]; parents, 69.8% [n = 90]) compared with impact on quality of life (QOL) (patients, 44.2% [n = 57]; parents, 55.8% [n = 72]) or emotional impact (patients, 31.8% [n = 41]; parents, 43.4% [n = 56]). One fifth of patients (20.9% [n = 27]) reported they had no up-front discussion about the emotional impact of cancer treatment. Parents indicated a desire for increased discussion regarding impact on family life (27.9% [n = 36]), long-term QOL (27.9% [n = 36]), and daily activities (20.2% [n = 26]). Patients more frequently than parents indicated a desire for increased physician/patient discussion around the impact on daily activities (patients, 40.3% [n = 52]; parents, 21.7% [n = 28]; P < .001), long-term QOL (patients, 34.9% [n = 45]; parents, 16.3% [n = 21]; P < .001), pain management (patients, 23.3% [n = 30]; parents, 7% [n = 9]; P < .001), physical symptom management (patients, 24% [n = 31]; parents, 7.8% [n = 10]; P < .001), short-term QOL (patients, 23.3% [n = 30]; parents, 9.3% [n = 12]; P = .001), and curative potential (patients, 21.7% [n = 28]; parents, 8.5% [n = 11]; P = .002, P values calculated using McNemar's test). CONCLUSION: Oncologists may not be meeting the informational needs of many patients and some parents/caregivers. Communication could be enhanced through increased direct physician-patient communication, as well as proactive discussion of emotional symptoms and impact of cancer on QOL.

De novo metastasis in breast cancer: occurrence and overall survival stratified by molecular subtype.

Breast cancer molecular subtypes, categorized jointly by hormone receptors (HR) and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER2), are utilized to guide systemic therapy. We hypothesized distinct patterns of de novo metastasis and overall survival by molecular subtype using a retrospective cohort of 399,772 women in the National Cancer Database diagnosed with first primary invasive breast cancer between 2010 and 2014, of whom 13,924 were diagnosed with de novo metastasis from 2010 to 2013 and had follow up data. The relationship of molecular subtype with patient and tumor characteristics, including site of de novo metastasis, were examined using Chi-squared tests. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to examine overall survival by molecular subtype. Bone was the most frequent de novo metastatic site for all molecular subtypes. Compared to HR+/HER2-, patients with HR-/HER2+ experienced 4.5, 3.0, and 6.0 times the de novo brain, lung, and liver metastasis respectively. In survival analyses of women diagnosed with de novo metastasis, the mortality risk relative to HR+/HER2- was twice as high for triple-negative (hazard ratio = 2.02, 95% CI 1.89-2.16) and modestly lower for HR+/HER2+ (hazard ratio = 0.83, 95% CI 0.78-0.88). The median survival difference between metastatic patients with and without chemotherapy was 28.6 months in HR+/HER2+ and 28.2 months in HR-/HER2+, but only 10.9 months in triple-negative and 5.2 months in HR+/HER2-. In conclusion, despite unfavorable patterns of de novo metastasis, HER2+ breast cancers had relatively better survival in recent years, probably due to treatment differences. Utilizing molecular subtype and site of de novo metastasis may predict prognosis and guide treatment.

Adjuvant radiation and survival following surgical resection of sinonasal melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for sinonasal melanoma, but it is often difficult to obtain clear, negative margins. Therefore, patients often receive adjuvant radiation therapy (RT), however its impact on overall survival (OS) is not well understood. METHODS: Patients with surgically resected sinonasal melanoma were identified from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB, n=696). Kaplan-Meier curves and parametric survival regression were used to analyze the impact of adjuvant RT on OS from surgery. Adjusted time ratios (aTRs) were computed, with values >1 corresponding to improved survival. RESULTS: 399 (57.3%) patients received adjuvant RT. Those receiving RT tended to be younger but with more advanced disease and greater likelihood of positive margins, compared to those receiving no adjuvant therapy. Median survival was 25.0months for those treated with surgery alone, compared to 28.3months for those receiving adjuvant RT (log-rank P=0.408). When adjusting for potential confounders, there was a trend towards greater survival with adjuvant RT (aTR 1.16, 95%CI 0.98-1.37). RT appeared beneficial in those with stage IVB disease (aTR 2.58, 95%CI 1.40-4.75) but not stage IVA (aTR 1.19, 95%CI 0.88-1.61) or III (aTR 0.85, 95%CI 0.65-1.13) disease. In contrast, there were no differences in impact of RT according to margin status (aTR 1.16 for both positive and negative margins). CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant therapy does not appear to provide a significant survival benefit in resected sinonasal melanomas regardless of margin status, except those with stage IVB disease. Practitioners should carefully consider the added benefit of adjuvant therapy in these patients.

Clinical accuracy of preoperative breast MRI for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear if breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is more accurate than mammography (MGM) and ultrasound (U/S) in aggregate for patients with invasive cancer. METHODS: We compared concordance of combined tumor size and tumor foci between MRI and MGM and U/S combined to pathological tumor size and foci as the gold standard from 2009 to 2015. Tumor size was nonconcordant if it differed from the pathologic size by ≥33% and tumor foci was nonconcordant if >1 foci were seen. If one or both of the MGM or U/S was nonconcordant and the MRI was concordant, MRI provided greater accuracy. RESULTS: Of 471 patients with MGM, US, and MRI, MRI was more accurate for 32.9% of patients for tumor size and for 21.9% for tumor foci. Patients for whom MRI had greater accuracy were compared to those who did not for clinical and tumor factors. The only significant factor was calcifications on mammography. Tumor size, stage, molecular subtype, histology, grade, patient BMI, age, mammographic density, and use of hormone replacement therapy were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Breast MRI provides greater accuracy for a third of patients undergoing preoperative MGM and U/S. Mammographic calcifications were associated with MRI clinical accuracy for patients with invasive cancer.

Are the ACOSOG Z0011 Trial Findings Being Applied to Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy?

In 2010, the ACOSOG Z0011 trial showed equivalent survival and recurrence between sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) alone versus axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for those with a tumor positive sentinel node (SN). We examined national trends in axillary surgery following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for clinically node positive disease in the years prior to and after the Z0011 trial publication. 12,063 women with cT1-4N1M0 invasive breast cancer who underwent NAC from 2006 to 2013 and had 1-3 positive nodes on pathology were selected from the National Cancer Data Base. We defined SLNB as 1-4 nodes and ALND as ≥10 nodes examined. 2,704 women (22.4%) underwent SLNB alone and 9,359 (77.6%) underwent ALND. The rate of SLNB increased from 25.6% in 2006 to 33.3% in 2012 in patients that underwent lumpectomy (p < 0.01) and increased from 20.6% to 22.8% in patients that underwent mastectomy (p = 0.25). Patients treated at Community centers (30.4% versus 19.2% at Academic centers) and those with less positive nodes (32.2% for 1 positive node versus 10.1% for 3 positive nodes, p < 0.01) were more likely to have SLNB alone compared to ALND. On multivariate analysis, treatment with lumpectomy (OR 1.46, CI 1.28-1.67), lower number of positive nodes (OR 3.98, CI 3.29-4.82) and lobular subtype (OR 1.82, CI 1.42-2.34) were independent predictors of receiving SLNB alone after NAC. Approximately 22% of patients with cN1 breast cancer underwent SLNB alone for pN1 disease after NAC. Ongoing clinical trials will determine if recurrence and survival rates are equivalent between SLNB and ALND groups.

The national landscape of human papillomavirus-associated oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma.

The head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNC) landscape is evolving with human papillomavirus (HPV) being a rising cause of oropharynx carcinoma (OPC). This study seeks to investigate a national database for HPV-associated oropharynx carcinoma (HPV-OPC). Using the National Cancer Data Base, we analyzed 22,693 patients with HPV-OPC and known HPV status. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were utilized to examine differences between HPV positive and HPV negative OPC. 14,805 (65.2%) patients were HPV positive. Mean age at presentation was 58.4 years with HPV-HNC patients being 2.8 years younger compared to the HPV-negative cohort (58.4 vs. 61.2 years, p < 0.001). 67.6% of white patients were HPV-positive compared to 42.3% of African American patients and 57.1% of Hispanics (p < 0.001). When combining race and socioeconomic status (SES), we found African American patients in high SES groups had HPV-OPC prevalence that was significantly higher than African American patients in low SES groups (56.9% vs. 36.3%, p < 0.001). Geographic distribution of HPV-OPC was also analyzed and found to be most prevalent in Western states and least prevalent in the Southern states (p < 0.001). The distribution of HPV-OPC is variable across the country and among racial and socioeconomic groups. A broad understanding of these differences in HPV-OPC should drive educational programs and improve clinical trials that benefit both prevention and current treatments.

Perioperative chemotherapy is associated with a survival advantage in early stage adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head.

BACKGROUND: The value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of early stage pancreatic cancer is not yet clear. METHODS: We evaluated patients from the National Cancer Data Base who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for clinical stage I and II pancreatic adenocarcinoma between 2006 and 2012. RESULTS: In total, 7,881 patients were identified. Of these, 27.5% received no chemotherapy, 57.4% received adjuvant chemotherapy, 10.2% received neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone, and 4.9% received perioperative chemotherapy, both preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy use (neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone and perioperative chemotherapy) increased from 12.0% in 2006 to 20.2% in 2012. Patients who received chemotherapy prior to the operation (neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone and perioperative chemotherapy) had greater rates of margin negative (80.2% vs 73.0%, P < .001) and node negative (58.2% vs 28.7%, P < .001) resections and shorter mean durations of stay (12.0 vs 11.1 days, P = .012) than those receiving either adjuvant chemotherapy or no chemotherapy at all. There were no differences in 30-day unplanned readmissions (P = .074) and 90-day mortality (P = .227). On Cox survival analysis, adjusted for clinical variables including age and comorbid disease, patients undergoing perioperative chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone demonstrated significantly improved overall survival relative to that of patients undergoing resection alone (all P < .001). Patients receiving perioperative chemotherapy demonstrated a significant overall survival advantage compared with those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy (hazard ratio 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.65-0.85). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone had a marginal overall survival benefit compared with adjuvant chemotherapy (hazard ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.81-0.98). CONCLUSION: Early stage pancreatic cancer patients who receive perioperative chemotherapy have better overall survival than those receiving no chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, or neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone. Patterns of postoperative morbidity are similar regardless of the sequence of therapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be considered for patients presenting with early stage pancreatic cancer.

Surgery and hormone therapy trends in octogenarians with invasive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: There has been a trend toward minimizing surgery in elderly women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. METHODS: Using the National Cancer Data Base, we selected 95,357 women ≥80 years with invasive, ER+ breast cancer. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze trends in surgery and hormone therapy. RESULTS: From 2004 to 2012, 90% of women were treated with surgery first and 10% were treated with primary nonoperative management. Of those undergoing nonoperative management, 72% received endocrine therapy and 27% had no treatment. The rate of primary nonoperative treatment doubled from 7% in 2004 to 14% in 2012. Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for patient, facility, and tumor factors identified more advanced clinical stage, older age, African-American race, and treatment at Academic facilities as independent predictors of receiving primary nonsurgical management. CONCLUSIONS: There has been an increase over time in primary nonoperative management of ER+ breast cancer in octogenarians.

Increased utilization of postmastectomy radiotherapy in the United States from 2003 to 2011 in patients with one to three tumor positive nodes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There have been few recent studies that have examined the use of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) for patients with 1-3 positive nodes. METHODS: We utilized the National Cancer Data Base to examine trends in PMRT for 346,218 patients with Stage I-III breast cancer from 2003 to 2011. Neoadjuvant therapy cases were excluded. Log linear models examined trends in PMRT and logistic regressions were used to examine factors related to PMRT. RESULTS: The proportion of pT1-2N1 patients receiving PMRT increased from 23.9% in 2003 to 36.4% in 2011 with an annual percent change (APC) of 6.2% (P < 0.001). There were significant increases in the use of PMRT amongst patients with one (APC = 7.7%), two (APC = 6.7%), and three (APC = 4.2%) positive nodes. In 2011, 27.8%, 43.8%, and 57.8% of patients with one, two or three positive nodes underwent PMRT, respectively. The number of positive nodes and tumor size were the strongest independent predictors of PMRT in the 1-3 node group; lymphovascular invasion, invasive lobular histology, and triple negative phenotypes were also associated with PMRT use. CONCLUSION: PMRT for patients with pT1-2N1 disease has increased with the greatest increase seen in those with one tumor positive node. Tumor factors remain strong independent predictors of PMRT.

Survival Outcomes and Pathologic Features Among Breast Cancer Patients Who Have Developed a Contralateral Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that contralateral breast cancer (CBC) portends worse survival compared to unilateral breast cancer (UBC), but few studies have been conducted in the United States, and survival is usually examined from the time of CBC development. METHODS: Utilizing the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we selected 83,001 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from 1998 to 2005. The time interval between the initial cancer and CBC was used as a time-dependent variable in a Cox regression analysis to examine overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) between UBC and CBC. RESULTS: Overall, 2130 patients (2.6 %) developed a CBC, 47.2 % within 5 years and 52.8 % ≥ 5 years. Most stage I patients (61.9 %) developed a stage I CBC, and a majority of stage II patients (51.6 %) developed a stage I CBC (p < 0.001). There was a median follow-up of 8.7 years. After adjustment, patients who developed a CBC 4 years after their initial breast cancer had worse DSS compared to patients with UBC (hazard ratio 1.36, 95 % confidence interval 1.03-1.79). Those patients who developed their CBC 8 years after their initial breast cancer had improved DSS (hazard ratio 0.37, 95 % confidence interval 0.20-0.67). Similar trends were observed for OS. Similar trends for OS and DSS were observed for estrogen receptor-negative women and women <50 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Development of a CBC early is associated with worse survival, but CBC development later on is associated with improved survival. Future studies are needed that can assist physicians with how to predict whether a patient will develop a CBC early on.

Clinicopathologic features and time interval analysis of contralateral breast cancers.

INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that most contralateral breast cancers (CBCs) develop ≥5 years after the primary breast cancer (PBC) and that CBCs have more favorable tumor characteristics. METHODS: This is a single-institution retrospective review of 323 patients who were diagnosed with CBC from 1990 to 2014. CBCs were diagnosed at least 1 year after the diagnosis of PBC. Χ(2) tests and one-way analysis of variance were used to examine the time interval and pathologic features between the PBC and CBC. RESULTS: The median time interval between the PBC and CBC was 6.2 years (average: 7.1, range: 1.01-23.0), and 189 (58.5%) patients had a time interval ≥5 years. Patients ≥70 years old developed a CBC sooner than patients <50 years (median: 4.3 vs 6.6 years, P < .001). Patients with infiltrating lobular carcinoma developed their CBC in 9.0 years versus 6.2 years for infiltrating ductal carcinoma histology (P = .028). In comparison with the PBC, a greater proportion of CBCs were stage I (50.8%), T1 (72.1%), node negative (67.5%), and estrogen receptor positive (68.7%). Of the 252 patients with available tumor size information for both cancers, only 54 (21.4%) patients developed a CBC that was >1 cm larger than their PBC, and only 25 (9.9%) patients developed a CBC that was >2 cm larger than their PBC. Only 28 of 201 (13.9%) node-negative PBCs developed a node-positive CBC. CONCLUSION: A majority of CBCs develop ≥5 years after the diagnosis of the PBC. CBCs have more favorable tumor characteristics than the PBC and tend to be smaller and node negative.

Variation in Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Rates According to Racial Groups in Young Women with Breast Cancer, 1998 to 2011: A Report from the National Cancer Data Base.

BACKGROUND: The rate of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) for unilateral breast cancer has increased over the past decade, particularly for young women. This study investigates the impact of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on use of CPM. STUDY DESIGN: Using the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), we selected 1,781,409 stage 0 to II unilateral breast cancer patients between 1998 and 2011. Trends in use of CPM by race and SES were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression models. RESULTS: For women of all ages, rates of CPM increased, from 1.9% in 1998 to 10.2% in 2011 (p < 0.001), with higher rates in women ≤45 years old, rising from 3.7% in 1998 to 26.2% in 2011 (p < 0.001). Among young women, white women had the greatest increase in CPM from 4.3% in 1998 to 30.2% in 2011 (p < 0.001). In 2011, CPM rates were 30.2% for white, 18.5% for Hispanic, 16.5% for black, and 15.2% for Asian patients (p < 0.001). The gap in CPM use between white and minority patients persisted in every SES classification, geographic region, and facility type. On multivariate analysis, minority women were 50% less likely to undergo CPM than white women were. CONCLUSIONS: Young, white, breast cancer patients are twice as likely to undergo CPM compared with women in other racial groups, even after accounting for pathologic, patient, and facility factors. Variations in shared decision-making processes between women of different backgrounds may contribute to these trends, supporting the need for future studies investigating decision-making processes and decisional aids.

Impact of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 Randomized Trial on the Number of Axillary Nodes Removed for Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: The Z0011 trial showed similar outcomes between sentinel node biopsy (SNB) alone and axillary node dissection (ALND) for early-stage breast cancer, but few studies have examined Z0011's impact on practice patterns. STUDY DESIGN: Using the National Cancer Data Base, we examined use of SNB alone in patients who did and did not fulfill Z0011 eligibility criteria from 1998 to 2011. Because the National Cancer Data Base does not specifically identify SNB vs ALND, we categorized removal of ≤4 nodes as SNB only and ≥10 nodes as ALND. RESULTS: Of 74,309 lumpectomy patients who fulfilled Z0011 criteria; 17,630 (23.7%) had a ≤4 nodes removed, 15,619 (21.0%) had 5 to 9 nodes removed, and 41,060 (55.3%) had ≥10 nodes removed. The proportion of lumpectomy patients receiving SNB increased from 6.1% in 1998 to 23.0% in 2009 to 56.0% in 2011 (p < 0.001). Independent predictors of ALND in lumpectomy patients were triple-negative tumors, younger than 50 years old, African-American race, size ≥3.0 cm, ≥2 positive nodes, invasive lobular carcinoma, grade III disease, and lymph node macrometastases. Patients outside of Z0011 criteria also underwent SNB alone: 54% of patients with tumors >5 cm, 52.5% who received no radiation therapy or accelerated partial breast irradiation, 35.9% with clinically positive nodes, 22.3% who underwent mastectomy, and 12.9% who had >3 tumor-positive nodes. CONCLUSIONS: The use of SNB alone for patients fulfilling Z0011 criteria has increased substantially from 2009 to 2011. A considerable proportion of patients falling outside of Z0011 eligibility criteria were also treated with SNB alone.

A Contemporary Analysis of Surgical Trends in the Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx from 1998 to 2012: A Report from the National Cancer Database.

BACKGROUND: This study examined surgical trends for oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma (OPC) from 1998 to 2012, with a post-2009 focus coinciding with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of transoral robotic surgery (TORS). METHODS: Using the National Cancer Data Base, the study analyzed 84,449 patients with stage I-IVB OPC. χ (2) tests and logistic regression models were used to examine surgical trends. RESULTS: The use of surgery decreased from 41.4 % in 1998 to 30.4 % in 2009 (p < 0.001). The surgical trends reversed and in 2012 increased to 34.8 % (p < 0.001). There was much variation in surgery in 2012 between American Joint Committee on Cancer stages, with 80.2 % of stage I patients receiving surgery compared with 54.0 % of stage II patients, 36.8 % of stage III patients, and 28.5 % of stage IV patients (p < 0.001). Black patients with high socioeconomic status (SES) showed lower use of surgery (25.3 %) compared to low SES white (32.3 %) and low SES Hispanic patients (27.3 %) (p < 0.001). The highest surgical rates were noted in the West North Central region and lowest rates were observed in the New England and South Atlantic regions. Between 2009 and 2012, independent predictors of surgical treatment included young age, female gender, white or Hispanic race, high SES, private insurance, academic hospitals, hospitals in the West North Central region, residence more than 75 miles from the hospital, increasing comorbidities, stage I disease, and tonsil origin (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Since FDA approval of TORS in 2009, surgical rates have increased with multiple socioeconomic and regional factors affecting patient selection. This study provides a basis for further investigation into factors involved in decision making for OPC patients.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers: an interim analysis and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: There are few large-scale studies that have examined outcomes for BRCA1/2 carriers who have undergone nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM). The objective of our study was to examine incidental cancers, operative complications, and locoregional recurrences in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers who underwent NSM for both risk reduction and cancer treatment. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of pathology results and outcomes of 201 BRCA1/2 carriers from two different institutions who underwent NSM from 2007 to 2014. RESULTS: NSM was performed in 397 breasts of 201 BRCA1/2 carriers. One hundred and twenty-five (62.2 %) patients had a BRCA1 mutation and 76 (37.8 %) had a BRCA2 mutation; 150 (74.6 %) patients underwent NSM for risk reduction and 51 (25.4 %) for cancer. Incidental cancers were found in four (2.7 %) of the 150 risk-reduction patients and two (3.9 %) of the 51 cancer patients. The nipple-areolar complex (NAC) was involved with cancer in three (5.8 %) patients. No prophylactic mastectomy had a positive NAC margin. There was loss of the NAC in seven breasts (1.8 %) and flap necrosis in ten (2.5 %) breasts. With a mean follow-up of 32.6 months (1-76 months), there have been four cancer events-three in cancer patients and one in a risk-reduction patient but none at the NAC. CONCLUSION: NSM in BRCA1/2 carriers is associated with a low rate of complications and locoregional recurrence but these patients require long-term follow-up in both the cancer and risk-reduction setting.

Wait times for breast surgical operations, 2003-2011: a report from the National Cancer Data Base.

BACKGROUND: Few large-scale multicenter studies have examined wait times for breast surgery and no benchmarks exist. METHODS: Using the National Cancer Data Base, we analyzed time from diagnosis to first surgery for 819,175 non-neoadjuvant AJCC stage 0-III breast cancer patients treated from 2003 to 2011. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used to examine factors associated with delays to surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS: Seventy percent of patients underwent an initial lumpectomy (LP), 22% a mastectomy (MA), and 8% a mastectomy with reconstruction (MR). The median time from diagnosis to first surgery significantly increased by approximately 1 week for all three procedures over the study period. In a multivariate analysis, the following variables were independent predictors of a longer wait time to first surgery: increasing age, black or Hispanic race, Medicaid or no insurance, low-education communities and metropolitan areas, increasing comorbidities, stage 0 and grade 1 disease, academic/research facilities, high-volume facilities, and facilities located in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific regions. In 2010-2011, patients who waited >30 days for surgery were 1.36 times more likely (OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.30-1.43) to experience a delay to adjuvant chemotherapy >60 days compared with patients who were surgically treated within 30 days of diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Facility and socioeconomic factors are most strongly associated with longer wait times for breast operations, and delays to surgery are associated with delays to adjuvant chemotherapy initiation.

Repeat surgery after breast conservation for the treatment of stage 0 to II breast carcinoma: a report from the National Cancer Data Base, 2004-2010.

IMPORTANCE: Although complete excision of breast cancer is accepted as the best means to reduce local recurrence and thereby improve survival, there is currently no standard margin width for breast conservation surgery. As a result, significant variability exists in the number of additional operations or repeat surgeries patients undergo to establish tumor-negative margins. OBJECTIVE: To determine the patient, tumor, and facility factors that influence repeat surgery rates in US patients undergoing breast conservation surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Patients diagnosed as having breast cancer at a Commission on Cancer accredited center from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2010, and identified via the National Cancer Data Base, a large observational database, were included in the analysis. A total of 316,114 patients with stage 0 to II breast cancer who underwent initial breast conservation surgery were studied. Patients who were neoadjuvantly treated or whose conditions were diagnosed by excisional biopsy were excluded. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Patient, tumor, and facility factors associated with repeat surgeries. RESULTS: A total of 241,597 patients (76.4%) underwent a single lumpectomy, whereas 74,517 (23.6%) underwent at least 1 additional operation, of whom 46,250 (62.1%) underwent a completion lumpectomy and 28,267 (37.9%) underwent a mastectomy. The proportion of patients undergoing repeat surgery decreased slightly during the study period from 25.4% to 22.7% (P < .001). Independent predictors of repeat surgeries were age, race, insurance status, comorbidities, histologic subtype, estrogen receptor status, pathologic tumor size, node status, tumor grade, facility type and location, and volume of breast cancer cases. Age was inversely associated with repeat surgery, decreasing from 38.5% in patients 18 to 29 years old to 16.5% in those older than 80 years (P < .001). In contrast, larger tumor size was linearly associated with a higher repeat surgery rate (P < .001). Repeat surgeries were most common at facilities located in the Northeast region (26.5%) compared with facilities in the Mountain region, where only 18.4% of patients underwent repeat surgery (P < .001). Academic or research facilities had a 26.0% repeat surgery rate compared with a rate of 22.4% at community facilities (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Approximately one-fourth of all patients who undergo initial breast conservation surgery for breast cancer will have a subsequent operative intervention. The rate of repeat surgeries varies by patient, tumor, and facility factors and has decreased slightly during the past 6 years.

Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy provides no survival benefit in young women with estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) provides a disease-free and overall survival (OS) benefit in young women with estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer. We utilized the National Cancer Data Base to evaluate CPM's survival benefit for young women with early -stage breast cancer in the years that ER status was available. METHODS: We selected 14,627 women ≤45 years of age with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage I-II breast cancer who underwent unilateral mastectomy or CPM from 2004 to 2006. Five-year OS was compared between those who had unilateral mastectomy and CPM using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 10,289 (70.3 %) women underwent unilateral mastectomy and 4,338 (29.7 %) women underwent CPM. Median follow up was 6.1 years. After adjusting for patient age, race, insurance status, co-morbidities, year of diagnosis, ER status, tumor size, nodal status, grade, histology, facility type, facility location, use of adjuvant radiation and chemohormonal therapy, there was no difference in OS in women <45 years of age who underwent CPM compared towith those who underwent unilateral mastectomy (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.93; p = 0.39). In addition, Tthere was no improvement in OS in women <45 years of age with T1N0 tumors who underwent CPM versus unilateral mastectomy (HR = 0.85; p = 0.37) after adjusting for the aforementioned factors. Among women ≤45 years of age with ER-negative tumors who underwent CPM, there was no improvement in OS compared with women who underwent unilateral mastectomy (HR = 1.12; p = 0.32) after adjusting for the same aforementioned factors. CONCLUSIONS: CPM provides no survival benefit to young patients with early-stage breast cancer, and no benefit to ER-negative patients. Future studies with longer follow-up are required in this cohort of patients.