Outcomes after SLNB and RT for early-stage ER-positive breast cancer in older women

Overtreatment of early-stage breast cancer with favorable tumor biology in older patients may be harmful without affecting recurrence and survival. Analysis of patients of 15 centers in Pennsylvania included women in the age of 70 years and older, with ER-positive, HER2-negative clinically node-negative breast cancer from 2010 to 2018. Rates of sentinel lymph node biopsy increased (1.0% per year) while rates of radiotherapy decreased (3.4% per year). In analyses limited to patients from 2010 to 2014 SNLB and RT were not associated with LRFS or DFS. The authors conclude that the analysis supports the continued deimplementation of both SLNB and RT in older women with early-stage ER-positive, HER2-negative clinically node-negative breast cancer.