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| |  Whole Radiation Recommended for Mucinous Carcinoma: Presented at SABCS By Ed Susman SAN ANTONIO, Tex -- December 12, 2009 -- According to a study presented here today at the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), in more than one-third of cases involving mucinous breast carcinoma, several tumour sites are present -- possibly negating the use of partial breast radiation in these patients. Mucinous breast carcinoma is generally considered a disease with favourable outcome, with an incidence of about 2% of all breast cancers, although the incidence is increasing about older women. While there is a general tendency to reduce overall radiation exposure with locally directed treatments, clinicians should use caution regarding mucinous tumours, according to George Perkins, MD, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer, Houston, Texas. “Our findings indicate another potentially unfavourable aspect associated with a widely accepted as favourable breast cancer subtype,” said Dr. Perkins. “In an era of concern regarding overtreatment, we caution in our findings that undertreatment could also become a significant hazard for patients and thus should be a significant area of concern.” While the initial scrutiny of patients with these tumours indicated that 10% of these patients had multifocal disease, several areas in the breast exhibited mucinous tumour sites. On final pathology 38% of these patients exhibited multifocality. At a press briefing, he said use of partial breast radiation in these patients might miss some microtumours whereas whole breast radiation would more than likely cover these occult tumours. “Multidisciplinary management with intraoperative radiology and pathology and magnetic resonance imaging should be utilised to identify occult disease,” Dr. Perkins said. Dr. Perkins and colleagues reviewed charts for 264 patients diagnosed with a pure mucinous carcinoma from 1965 to 2005. At 5 years, overall survival was 95% and about 88% of patients had distant metastases-free survival at 5 years. The 5-year local regional control rate was 83%. The median age of the patients in the study was 57 years; 44% of the women opted for breast-conserving therapy, while the others underwent mastectomy. About 86% of the patients were diagnosed as stage I or stage II, and 81% were node negative. Dr. Perkins said 51% of the patients underwent radiation therapy following surgery and 24% of patients had chemotherapy treatments. [Presentation title: Mucinous Breast Carcinoma: Occult Multifocality/Multicentricity in a Favorable Disease. Abstract 4117]
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