title: Postmastectomy Radiotherapy: An American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Radiation Oncology, and Society of Surgical Oncology Focused Guideline Update.
abstract: Purpose A joint American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Radiation Oncology, and Society of Surgical Oncology panel convened to develop a focused update of the American Society of Clinical Oncology guideline concerning use of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT). Methods A recent systematic literature review by Cancer Care Ontario provided the primary evidentiary basis. The joint panel also reviewed targeted literature searches to identify new, potentially practice-changing data. Recommendations The panel unanimously agreed that available evidence shows that PMRT reduces the risks of locoregional failure (LRF), any recurrence, and breast cancer mortality for patients with T1-2 breast cancer with one to three positive axillary nodes. However, some subsets of these patients are likely to have such a low risk of LRF that the absolute benefit of PMRT is outweighed by its potential toxicities. In addition, the acceptable ratio of benefit to toxicity varies among patients and physicians. Thus, the decision to recommend PMRT requires a great deal of clinical judgment. The panel agreed clinicians making such recommendations for individual patients should consider factors that may decrease the risk of LRF, attenuate the benefit of reduced breast cancer-specific mortality, and/or increase risk of complications resulting from PMRT. When clinicians and patients elect to omit axillary dissection after a positive sentinel node biopsy, the panel recommends that these patients receive PMRT only if there is already sufficient information to justify its use without needing to know additional axillary nodes are involved. Patients with axillary nodal involvement after neoadjuvant systemic therapy should receive PMRT. The panel recommends treatment generally be administered to both the internal mammary nodes and the supraclavicular-axillary apical nodes in addition to the chest wall or reconstructed breast.
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Abram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Recht
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Comen
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Gini F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Hardenbergh
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Alice Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Clifford A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hudis
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: E Shelley
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kirshner
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morrow
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Kilian E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: George W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Sledge
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Solin
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Spears
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Somerfield
authors.affiliation: Abram Recht, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Elizabeth A. Comen, Alice Y. Ho, Clifford A. Hudis, Monica Morrow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York; Jeffrey J. Kirshner, Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse; Kilian E. Salerno and Stephen B. Edge, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Richard E. Fine, West Clinic Comprehensive Breast Center, Germantown, TN; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL; Patricia H. Hardenbergh, Shaw Regional Cancer Center, Edwards, CO; E. Shelley Hwang, Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Patricia A. Spears, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; George W. Sledge Jr, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA; Lawrence J. Solin, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA; Mark R. Somerfield, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA; and Timothy J. Whelan, Juravinski Cancer Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Edge
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000592:standards; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000592:standards; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000592:standards; D000071077:Surgical Oncology / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States