#Shotty lymph nodes may be reactive trial

Some experts in treating breast cancer said the new findings should change the way some people with breast cancer are treated. Since then, “there’s been a lot of talk about this study in the oncology community,” said Abram Recht, M.D., a breast radiation oncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved in the trial.

#Shotty lymph nodes may be reactive trial

Initial results of the NCI-supported clinical trial were presented in December 2023 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. In the trial, there was no difference in the likelihood of cancer coming back, or recurring, between those who got RNI to the lymph nodes and those who didn't. However, its use also can lead to side effects, including a potentially debilitating condition called lymphedema. The type of radiation in question, known as regional nodal irradiation (RNI), aims to destroy cancer cells that remain in the lymph nodes and lower the chances that the cancer will come back or spread to other parts of the body. In particular, the findings apply only to people who respond to chemotherapy given prior to surgery and no longer have signs of cancer in the lymph nodes at the time of surgery. Specifically, the new findings suggest that some people who have undergone surgery (either lumpectomy or mastectomy) for breast cancer that has already spread to nearby lymph nodes can safely skip radiation therapy that’s targeted to those lymph nodes. Results of a clinical trial reported last month suggest that further fine-tuning may be possible-in this case, when it comes to treatment with radiation following surgery.

From more targeted drugs to less extensive surgery, doctors continue to refine how breast cancer is treated.