Locaregional Treatment vs No Treatment in MBC

cp418

http://www.practiceupdate.com/journalscan/21423/3/...

Locoregional Treatment vs No Treatment of the Primary Tumour in Metastatic Breast Cancer

ShetlandPony

Thank you for posting this. It was reassuring to me.

wallycat

I could not get in on that link (not a member).

Here is another link: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/P...

Am I reading this correctly? NO treatment is better than treating the local recurrence? Please tell me I"m sleepy and reading it wrong!!

Heidihill

No surgery is better than surgery is correct for this MBC trial. Treatment included either endocrine therapy or chemotherapy before randomization for surgery. Will be interesting to see results of other trials, also more info on whether surgery is beneficial for a subset of MBC patients with oligometastatic disease.

exbrnxgrl

Wallycat,

This study looked at de novo metastatic bc (stage IV at dx), not recurrence. On the stage IV threads there has been ongoing discussion on whether breast surgery, to remove primary tumor, is beneficial or not. Thephysical benefits are not yet clear, but what about the psychological benefits? I can understand why women would want to get the darn thing out, even if it offered not clear physical benefit. I had a bmx about 6 weeks before my stage IV dx. Clearly, my bone met was there all along, but undetected. I often wonder what my course of tx would have been had we known that I already had MBC.

wallycat

Thanks gals.

I'm trying to spend less time reading some of this...especially since I need my annual visit with my onco and it always dredges up the worry/nerves as it is.