Controversies of chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer

ASSESSMENT OF THE POSTERIOR APPROACH FOR SURGICAL TREATMENT OF SPINAL METASTATIC BREAST CANCER

OBJECTIVE

To assess the clinical and radiological aspects of patients with spinal metastatic breast cancer who underwent surgical treatment by posterior approach.

METHODS

This is a retrospective and descriptive study. Clinical assessment included the patient's sex, age, surgical treatment employed and complications. Radiological assessment comprised the study of the morphopathological characteristics of the lesions.

RESULTS

Data from 44 patients (93.2% female) submitted to surgical treatment of spinal metastasis were collected. The average age of diagnosis was 56.79 years. Decompression and posterior fixation with pedicle screws were performed in 43.1% of patients, while 36.3% underwent decompression and posterior fixation with pedicle screws associated with corpectomy and replacement with intersomatic device filled with bone cement. In 20.4%, kyphoplasty was the chosen procedure. Eighteen percent of patients had surgical complications, and the thoracic spine was most affected by the tumor.

CONCLUSION

The clinical and radiological presentation of this group of patients is variable. The posterior portion of the vertebrae was more affected than the anterior. Although surgical treatment by posterior approach does not have the objective of curing the underlying disease, it can present favorable results, with higher rate of complication in major surgeries. Level of evidence IV, Therapeutic Studys.

Metastatic breast cancer: therapeutic options according to molecular subtypes and prior adjuvant therapy

In spite of advances in treatment strategies, about 25%-40% of patients with breast cancer still eventually develop metastatic disease that is largely incurable. Treatment goals vary from symptom control to lengthening survival, mainly on the basis of patient age and performance status, tumor biology, site and extent of disease, and prior therapies. In particular, breast cancer molecular characterization allows for the identification of breast cancer subtypes with distinct biological features, a distinct clinical course, and distinct treatment sensitivity. Endocrine manipulation is the cornerstone of therapy in hormone receptor-positive tumors; anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)-2 agents are essential in the management of HER-2(+) tumors; and chemotherapy is the only available option so far for the triple-negative subtype. In each of these subtypes, the more efficacious agents have been progressively incorporated into adjuvant treatment. As a consequence, the choice of the optimal therapeutic strategy for patients with metastatic disease is largely influenced by prior exposure to adjuvant therapies. This review contextualizes the data from clinical trials into different clinical scenarios of metastatic disease, taking into account the molecular subtype and prior adjuvant treatments.