Impact of Radiation Therapy on Breast Conservation in DCIS

September 5, 2019 updated by: Rinaa Punglia, MD MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Large regional variation exists in the use of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Although patients who do not receive initial radiotherapy for DCIS are candidates for subsequent BCS if they experience a second breast event, many undergo mastectomy instead.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Patients and their physicians are often confronted with a decision between more intensive versus less intensive treatment for a particular diagnosis. Quality decision-making between these options requires careful balancing of the risks and side-effects, as well as weighing the expected outcomes and their associated value as assessed by the patient.

Although the incidence of DCIS has risen dramatically (1), there exists considerable debate about optimal treatment. In general, people with DCIS have high rates of recurrence-free survival. Intensive therapies for DCIS such as mastectomy (removal of the breast) or radiation therapy following BCS reduce the likelihood of a second breast diagnosis,(2-5) but have not been shown to improve survival.(6) In addition, radiation usually necessitates mastectomy should a new cancer or DCIS develop in the same breast at any point during the patient's lifetime. Patients also have a small chance of experiencing long-term toxicity. Previous radiation can also complicate reconstructive options following mastectomy. The tradeoff between risk of second breast diagnosis and side-effects and potential consequences of radiation therapy underscores the need for patient preference-driven decision making.

Patients who receive BCS alone without radiation therapy may be candidates for repeat BCS if they have a second breast event in the same breast. One study suggests that some women choose not to have radiation after DCIS because they want to preserve a breast-preservation option should a second breast diagnosis occur.(7) However, the likelihood of mastectomy versus BCS at time of new diagnosis in a previously un-irradiated breast is variable.(8-10) Whether a woman receives repeat breast-conserving surgery for a new diagnosis may not only be a function of the stage of diagnosis, but may be also determined by the regional treatment patterns used for management of DCIS. We sought to study whether regional intensity of radiation use for DCIS treatment increases the likelihood of mastectomy at time of second breast event, among women who have not received radiation therapy at initial DCIS diagnosis. (Punglia RS, Cronin AM, Uno H, et al. Association of Regional Intensity of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Treatment With Likelihood of Breast Preservation. JAMA Oncol. Published online July 21, 2016.)

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

3436

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Dana Farber Cancer Institute
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
    • New Hampshire
      • Hanover, New Hampshire, United States, 03755
        • Dartmouth College
    • Wisconsin
      • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53792
        • University of Wisconsin

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women identified from SEER and SEER-Medicare data with Stage 0-III breast cancer after DCIS who had received BCS without radiation for initial treatment.

Description

This study used data from SEER and SEER-Medicare.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Other
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database
Data were obtained for women in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) with a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) between 1990 and 2011 who had not undergone radiotherapy for DCIS and experienced a subsequent breast cancer or DCIS diagnosis.
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare
Data were obtained for women in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare with a ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) diagnosis between 1991 and 2009 who had not undergone radiotherapy for DCIS and experienced a subsequent breast cancer or DCIS diagnosis.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Association Between Patient Characteristics and Three-Level Cluster of Treatment Intensity for Primary DCIS
Time Frame: 20 Years
The investigators defined treatment intensity in a health services area to be the proportion of patients undergoing breast conserving surgery for DCIS who receive radiation therapy. Because a proportion is challenging to analyze statistically given that the precision of the estimate depends on the size of the denominator which varies across service areas, we used hierarchical modeling to categorize the health service areas into three categories (low, medium, high), using a latent variable to determine which health service area belongs to each of the three categories. The cutoffs separating the groups were based on the hierarchical model, taking the precision of the estimated proportion of patients receiving radiation into account. Health service areas with the highest proportions of patients receiving radiation were assigned to the "high" cluster; those with the lowest proportions to the "low" cluster; and those in the between to the "medium" cluster.
20 Years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Collaborators

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rinaa S. Punglia, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

August 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 23, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 23, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

September 25, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 6, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 5, 2019

Last Verified

September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 12-420
  • CE-12-11-4173 (Other Grant/Funding Number: PCORI)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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