Key clinical point: Survival outcomes were worsened in women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who were prescribed monthly antibiotics after TNBC diagnosis.
Major finding: Each additional total and unique monthly antimicrobial prescription was associated with inferior breast cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.08, and HR 1.18; 95% CI 1.13-1.24, respectively) and overall survival (HR 1.05; 95% CI 1.02-1.08, and HR 1.17; 95% CI 1.12-1.23, respectively), with the association sustaining through the third year after TNBC diagnosis.
Study details: This study analyzed the data of 772 women with stage I-III TNBC from the Oncoshare database (including integrated data of electronic medical records and California Cancer Registry) who were treated with or without standard cytotoxic chemotherapy, of which 654 women received antibiotics.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, New York, and other sources. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Ransohoff JD et al. Antimicrobial exposure is associated with decreased survival in triple-negative breast cancer. Nat Commun. 2023;14:2053 (Apr 12). Doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37636-0