Combining Radiation and Breast Reconstruction Strategies in Breast Cancer

Radiation therapy plays an important role in reducing the risk of cancer recurrence for patients undergoing breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, according to Dr. Reshma Jagsi, who went on to explain how recent research has helped improve the understanding of how radiation affects reconstruction outcomes in patients with breast cancer.

However, combining radiation with breast reconstruction has led to complications in the past, she explained. Despite this, recent research has delved deeper into this topic to improve outcomes for patients.

To further understand the topic of combining radiation therapy and breast reconstruction, Jagsi sat down for an interview with CURE to discuss how radiation therapy may potentially effect reconstruction outcomes within this patient population.

Jagsi is a board-certified radiation oncologist and currently serves as a Lawrence W. Davis Professor at the Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, where she is also the chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. She is also the chair of both the Ethics Committee and the Women in Radiation Oncology Group for the American Society of Radiation Oncology, the NIH's Board of Scientific Counselors and Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Transcript:

So, that's a great question. I think we all want the same things for our patients, which are to improve the quality of life that breast reconstruction can provide and to ensure optimal tumor control, which sometimes requires radiation therapy even after a mastectomy. Therefore, we are trying to learn better ways to integrate both of these important treatments for our patients.

In the past, combining radiation therapy and breast reconstruction was quite concerning, as we frequently saw complications. This has really motivated some very interesting recent research to delve more deeply into patient experiences and outcomes after breast reconstruction when combined with radiation treatment.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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