Traditionally, stage IV metastatic breast cancer has been treated with systemic therapy and/or radiotherapy in order to decrease cancer-associated symptoms, maintain quality of life and control disease burden. Previous research suggests that surgical treatment of the primary tumour may prolong survival, as well achieve local control of disease. Using the PubMed and Ovid SP databases, a literature review and meta-analysis was performed in order to assess whether surgical resection of the primary tumour in metastatic breast cancer prolongs survival. In this meta-analysis, a pooled hazard ratio of 0.63 (95% confidence interval, 0.58-0.7; P<0.0001) was revealed, equating to a 37% reduction in risk of mortality in patients that underwent surgical resection of the primary tumour. Therefore, it was concluded that surgery of the primary tumour in stage IV breast cancer appears to offer a survival benefit in metastatic patients.
Keywords: breast cancer; mastectomy; meta-analysis; metastasis; primary resection; systematic review.