Shahrin Ahmed, Medical Specialist at Canadian Cancer Society, shared a post on X:
“Axillary Dissection Following Breast Cancer Treatment.
In the MARI protocol, a solitary biopsy-proven positive axillary node is implanted with a radioactive iodine seed prior to primary systemic therapy and subsequently selectively removed following primary therapy to assess therapeutic response.
A recent study revealed that, among the 39% of patients who achieved a pathologic complete response (pCR) in the MARI-marked node and did not receive additional axillary treatment, axillary recurrence occurred in only one patient (0.7%). It is worth noting that the overall survival rate for patients in this group was 98% over a 5-year period.
The axillary recurrence rate was still low at 2.3% for patients who had residual disease in the MARI node and received radiation.
The MARI protocol-guided axillary treatment for patients with limited nodal disease has demonstrated a low risk of axillary recurrence, suggesting its consideration for patients with node-positive breast cancer who have achieved nodal pCR following primary systemic therapy.
350 breast cancer patients with a positive node underwent primary systemic therapy using the MARI protocol as part of the study. Individuals with minimal node involvement and a pCR in the MARI-marked node did not receive further axillary treatment, while those with residual disease in the MARI node underwent locoregional axial radiotherapy.”
More Posts Featuring Shahrin Ahmed.