Journal: The New England journal of medicine
This international phase 3 trial investigated the necessity of postmastectomy chest-wall irradiation in women with intermediate-risk breast cancer. This group was defined by specific tumor stages and risk factors. All patients were treated with mastectomy, axillary surgery, and systemic therapy.
Patients were randomized to receive either chest-wall irradiation or no irradiation. The primary endpoint was overall survival, assessed over 10 years.
Key results include:
- No significant difference in overall survival between the irradiation and no-irradiation groups (81.4% vs. 81.9%).
- Chest-wall recurrence was slightly lower with irradiation (1.1% vs. 2.5%).
- Disease-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival were similar between groups.
The study concluded that chest-wall irradiation does not improve overall survival in this patient population receiving contemporary systemic therapy.