Radiation therapy after local surgical therapy should be considered in patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast who are otherwise eligible for radiation therapy, concluded a group of researchers from the University of California-Davis.
Using Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data, the researchers identified 376 patients who underwent surgical resection for ACC of the breast between 1988 and 2005. Of these, 129 (34%) also received radiation therapy. Demographics and staging were similar in both groups. Upon univariate analysis, absolute overall survival benefit was 21% (P = .005) and cause-specific survival benefit was 7% (P =.12) at 10 years. Multivariate analysis showed that receipt of radiation therapy was a significant predictor of overall (hazard ratio [HR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.88) and cause-specific (HR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.01-0.88) survival