Editorial on “Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Does Not Increase Complications in Oncoplastic Breast-Conserving Surgery”

Excerpt

In their article “Neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not increase complications in oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery”,1 Adamson et al. demonstrate the safety of performing Level 2 volume displacement oncoplastic surgery, using mastopexy and breast reduction designs, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). In this retrospective, case-cohort comparison study, 122 patients received NAC, while 307 patients did not. Both groups had similar preoperative comorbidities, and the results showed no statistical difference in postoperative overall and major complications between the comparison groups. The overall complication rate was relatively high at 25.9%, with wound healing being most common; however, the major complication rate was lower at 9%. Additionally, only 5% of patients required additional surgery because of a complication. Importantly, approximately 5% of patients received a delay in their adjuvant therapy (radiation or chemotherapy) because of postoperative complications. Notably, in patients who did not receive NAC, 3.8% of patients had a delay to adjuvant radiation therapy, and 6% of patients had a delay to adjuvant chemotherapy. In patients who received NAC, 3.2% of patients had a delay to adjuvant radiation treatment. A period of 4 weeks following NAC was noted to be a safe time to perform oncoplastic surgery. …