Credit: Original article published here.Researchers of a study, published in Radiotherapy and Oncology, evaluated the effects of post-mastectomy radiation therapy in patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer based on pathological response to previous primary systemic therapy. The analyses used pooled data from the TRYPHAENA and NeoSphere randomized phase 2 trials. According to the study’s lead author, Omran Saifi, patients who achieved a complete nodal pathological response (ypN0) after primary systemic therapy had “excellent locoregional-control” that supported deescalation of post-mastectomy radiation therapy. Conversely, patients with ypN2-3 disease showed significant benefits with radiation therapy. Post-Mastectomy Radiotherapy Effect Per Nodal Status The analyses included 312 pooled patients with node-positive disease who were treated with HER-2-targeted primary systemic therapies, followed by mastectomy with or without subsequent radiation therapy. The primary end point was loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS). Researchers noted 172 (55%) patients achieved ypN0 response and 140 (45%) patients did not. Patients with ypN0 both with or without post-mastectomy radiation therapy had a 5-year LRRFS of 97% (P=.17). Patients with ypN1 disease (n=62) who received post-mastectomy radiation therapy (n=40) had a 5-year LRRFS of 89% compared with a LRRFS of 89% in those who did not receive radiation therapy (n=22; P=.60). In addition, authors found

Credit: Original article published here.Researchers of a study noted data on breast cancer risk conflict in describing an inverse association with preeclampsia but a positive association with preterm birth—which is linked to preeclampsia. The authors evaluated concurrent preeclampsia or gestational hypertension plus preterm birth and risk of breast cancer. According to the lead author, Hazel Nichols, analysis of 6 cohorts of women with breast cancer suggested premenopausal breast cancer had an inverse association with preeclampsia, and no significant association with preterm birth. Their findings were presented in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. Negative Correlation Between Preeclampsia and Breast Cancer Risk The study included a total of 3096 premenopausal breast cancers from 184,866 patients. Researchers used a Cox proportional hazard regression model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for breast cancer risk. Notably, the authors found preterm birth was not associated with premenopausal breast cancer risk (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.92-1.14), while preeclampsia was inversely associated with risk (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.99). Additionally, in subgroup analyses using 3 cohorts, the association between preterm birth and breast cancer risk differed in patients with hypertensive first pregnancies (P=.09). Researchers reported preterm birth was positively associated with premenopausal breast cancer in patients with preeclampsia or

Credit: Original article published here.Citing evidence that trastuzumab increased cardiac events in patients with breast cancer, researchers evaluated the cardiac safety profile of combined trastuzumab plus pertuzumab, the current standard of care for high-risk human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer. The data were published in ESMO Open. According to the study’s authors, dual blockade therapy with trastuzumab plus pertuzumab did not increase the risk for cardiac events compared with trastuzumab alone. Notably, patients who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy had increased risks for cardiac events, leading authors to suggest consideration of non-anthracycline chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Pertuzumab Plus Trastuzumab in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Researchers based their investigation on data from the phase III APHINITY trial. The trial enrolled 4769 patients with HER2-positive breast cancer with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥55% at baseline. LVEF was assessed every 3 months during treatment, every 6 months up to month 36, and yearly up to 10 years. The primary end point was cardiac events consisting of heart failure class III/IV and decrease in LVEF of ≥10% from baseline to <50%. Secondary cardiac events included a significant decrease in LVEF or cardiac events, as confirmed by the cardiac advisory board.