Expanding Criteria for Prognostic Stage IA in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

Background: The prognostic significance of patients with low-risk recurrence score (RS) results in the context of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) eighth edition pathologic prognostic staging has not been investigated. We evaluated if expanded RS criteria can be considered for downstaging in AJCC pathologic prognostic staging. Methods: Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, we identified patients with T1-3N0-3M0 hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer treated from 2010 to 2015 with follow-up data through 2016. We evaluated TNM categories, grade, and RS result. The primary outcome measured was 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) of patients with low-risk RS results not already pathologic prognostic stage IA, determined by T and N categories per AJCC eighth edition. All statistical tests were 2-sided. Results: Of 154 050 patients with median follow-up of 49 onths (range = 0-83), RS results were obtained in 60 886 (39.5%): RS was less than 11 in 13 570 (22.3%); 11-17 in 22 719 (37.3%); 18-25 in 16 521 (27.1%); and 26 or higher in 8076 (13.3%). Five-year DSS for pathologic prognostic stage IA patients (n = 114 910, 74.6%) was 98.8%. Among N0-1 patients with a RS less than 18 not staged as pathologic prognostic stage IA by current criteria, 5-year DSS was excellent and not statistically significantly different than for pathologic prognostic stage IA patients (97.2%-99.7%; P>.05). For those with a RS of 18-25, there was a small decrease in DSS for T2N0 (2.3%) and modest decrease for T1-2N1 (4.2%-6.4%) compared with pathologic prognostic stage IA patients (P<.001). Conclusion: Patients with a RS less than 18 have excellent 5-year DSS regardless of T category for N0-1 disease suggesting further modification of the AJCC staging system using this cutoff.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the prognostic significance of low-risk recurrence score (RS) in breast cancer patients and explored the potential use of expanded RS criteria for downstaging in AJCC pathologic prognostic staging. The results showed that patients with an RS less than 18 have excellent 5-year disease-specific survival regardless of T category for N0-1 disease, suggesting further modification of AJCC staging system using this cutoff.