Chest wall resection for internal mammary lymph node metastases of breast cancer

Evaluation of morbidity, mortality and oncologic outcome of patients treated with a chest wall resection for isolated breast cancer recurrences in the Internal Mammary Chain. Retrospectively we retrieved data from 29 patients. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors for (disease-free) survival. There were no postoperative deaths. Complications occurred in 11 patients. The median follow-up after CWR for all 16 patients still alive at the end of this study is 18.4 months. Nine patients were free of cancer. The 3-year overall and disease-free survival is 59.2% and 8.6%. The median survival is 40.7 months. After multivariate analysis for each of the four endpoints studied, only one prognostic factor remains significant for survival: systemic therapy before CRW (p = 0.004). For local recurrence-free survival a first CRW recurrence (p < 0.00001) and for disease-free survival radicality of the resection (p = 0.008) are independent prognostic factors. Chest wall resection is a safe and effective treatment for isolated breast cancer recurrences in the IMC. Surgically treated patients have a fair survival and some of them are even cured.