June 26, 2024- Surgery involving sentinel lymph node biopsy for middle-aged women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer may do more harm than good, according to a new study led by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center researchers. The team used a novel artificial intelligence pipeline developed by Realyze Intelligence, a UPMC Enterprises portfolio company, to analyze electronic health records.
The findings, published today in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, suggest that clinical guidelines for de-escalating surgery in women aged over 70 years with early-stage ER+ breast cancer may be safely extended to post-menopausal patients 55 or older. Women aged over 70 who are diagnosed with early-stage ER+ breast cancer have very low rates of metastasis, according to previous research. For these patients, overtreatment can have little benefit on survival but greatly decrease quality of life. These findings have led to efforts aimed at de-escalating treatment for this patient population