Treatment Patterns and Outcomes of Women with Breast Cancer and Supraclavicular Nodal Metastases

Background: In 2002, breast cancer patients with supraclavicular nodal metastases (cN3c) were downstaged from AJCC stage IV to IIIc, prompting management with locoregional treatment. We sought to estimate the impact of multimodal therapy on overall survival (OS) in a contemporary cohort of cN3c patients. Methods: Women ≥ 18 years with cT1-T4c/cN3c invasive breast cancer who underwent systemic therapy were identified from the 2004–2016 National Cancer Database. We compared three patient cohorts: (a) cN3c + multimodal therapy (systemic therapy, surgery, and radiation); (b) cN3c + non-standard therapy; and, (c) cM1. Logistic regression identified factors associated with receipt of multimodal therapy and Kaplan–Meier was used to estimate unadjusted OS. The Cox proportional hazards model estimated effects of diagnosis and treatment on OS after adjustment. Results: Overall, 1827 (3.7%) patients with cN3c disease and 46,919 (96.3%) cM1 patients were identified. Of cN3c patients, 74.5% (n = 1362) received multimodal therapy and 25.5% (n = 465) received non-standard therapy; receipt of multimodal therapy was associated with improved 5-year OS (multimodal: 59% vs. M1: 28% vs. non-standard: 28%, log-rank p < 0.001). Adjusting for covariates, non-standard therapy was associated with an increased risk of death compared with receipt of multimodal therapy (HR 2.20, 95% CI 1.71–2.83, p < 0.001). Private insurance was the only patient characteristic associated with a greater likelihood of receiving multimodal therapy (OR 2.81; 95% CI, 1.64–4.82; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Women with cN3c breast cancer who received multimodal therapy demonstrated improved overall survival when compared with patients undergoing non-standard therapy and those with metastatic (M1) disease. Although selection bias may contribute to worse overall survival among cN3c patients undergoing non-standard therapy, national guidelines should encourage locoregional treatment in carefully selected patients.