Effect of Delayed Oncoplastic Reduction Mammoplasty on Radiation Treatment Delay Following Breast-Conserving Surgery for Breast Cancer

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the delay in initiating adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in patients with early-stage breast cancer who underwent oncoplastic reduction mammoplasty (ORM) following BCS compared with a matched cohort of patients who did not undergo ORM between BCS and RT.MethodsMedical records of 112 women (56 ORMs and 56 matched non-ORMs) with carcinoma in situ or early-stage breast cancer treated with BCS were reviewed. ORM was performed in a delayed manner following BCS, allowing confirmation of negative surgical margins. Time to RT was defined as time from last oncologic surgery to start of RT.ResultsThe median follow-up time was 6.8 years for the ORM cohort and 6.7 years for the control non-ORM cohort. Patients who underwent ORM following BCS experienced a significant delay in initiating RT (>8 weeks) than matched patients not undergoing ORM (66% vs. 34%; p < 0.001). Wound complications occurred in 44.6% (n = 25) of patients in the ORM cohort, which were mostly minor, including delayed wound healing and/or infection (39%). There was no significant difference in local recurrence between patients in the non-ORM and ORM cohorts (p = 0.32).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that ORM following BCS has the potential to delay RT >8 weeks, largely as a result of increased risk of wound complications; however, this delay did not impact local control. ORM can be safely considered for appropriately selected patients with breast cancer.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the delay in initiating adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in patients who underwent oncoplastic reduction mammoplasty (ORM) compared to a matched cohort of patients who did not undergo ORM. Medical records of 112 women with early-stage breast cancer treated with BCS were reviewed, and it was found that patients who underwent ORM experienced a significant delay in initiating RT. ORM was associated with increased risk of wound complications, but it did not impact local control.