Dr. Morrow on the Z11 Trial Results Changing Practice

Monica Morrow, MD, chief, Breast Service, Department of Surgery; Anne Burnett Windfohr Chair of Clinical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, describes the results of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z11 trial as practice changing.

Morrow explains that cancer is constantly evolving and that as systemic therapy improves and disease burdens grow smaller the need to update guidelines becomes necessary. The current rules for local therapy have been in place for a long time and since they were put in place breast cancer and our knowledge of the disease has increased greatly.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has already adjusted their practices to align with the findings of the Z11 trial for patients with T1 and T2 clinically node negative breast cancer, with positive sentinel nodes, treated with breast conserving surgery, and whole breast irradiation.

The idea that any patients with any degree of lymph node involvement needs complete axillary dissection is becoming outdated. What we know about local treatment options has changed how patients need to be treated.