European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology
October 7, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Adjuvant abemaciclib does not increase delayed reconstructive morbidity after tissue-expander breast reconstruction: A multi-institutional propensity-matched analysis.
Verma Y, Godin GJ, Mahdi JH, Behnam AB, Badran S
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Adjuvant abemaciclib started around tissue-expander placement did not appear to raise delayed reconstructive complications.
What was studied
Retrospective TriNetX cohort of women with HR+/HER2- breast cancer, 1:1 propensity matched on 35 covariates (353 matched), assessing major reconstructive complications at 6 to 12 months.
Key findings
- Primary composite: infection, revision or mechanical complication
- Sensitivity analyses varied abemaciclib timing
- Abstract indicates no increased delayed morbidity
Clinical relevance
Reassures breast surgeons and oncologists about timing abemaciclib during reconstruction.
Who should care
Limitations
Retrospective database study with coding-based outcomes and residual confounding; results are cut off in the abstract.
Abemaciclib need not delay or preclude expander-based reconstruction.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Abemaciclib, a CDK4/6 inhibitor approved for the adjuvant treatment of HR+/HER2-node-positive early breast cancer, is frequently initiated during the postoperative reconstructive period. However, late postoperative outcomes of adjuvant abemaciclib exposure tissue expander (TE)-based reconstruction are unknown.
METHODS
In this retrospective cohort study, we identified adult women aged 18-75 years with HR+/HER2-breast cancer who underwent TE placement, using the TriNetX platform. The exposed cohort consisted of patients with documented abemaciclib initiation within 180 days of TE placement, and those with no CDK4/6 inhibitor exposure through 12 months postoperatively served as controls. A new-user design excluded patients with any preoperative abemaciclib use. We matched cohorts 1:1 on 35 covariates including disease-severity markers, treatment variables, demographics, and comorbidities. The primary endpoint was a composite major reconstructive complication (MRC)-implant-related infection, implant revision surgery, or mechanical complication-assessed between 6 and 12 months postoperatively. TE removal was evaluated as an independent secondary outcome. Three sensitivity analyses varied the timing of abemaciclib initiation (<6 weeks, 0-90 days, and 91-180 days postoperatively) to test the robustness of the primary findings.
RESULTS
After propensity score matching, 353 matched pairs remained. The MRC composite occurred in 28.9% of abemaciclib-exposed patients versus 27.8% of controls (RR 1.041; 95% CI 0.823-1.316; p = .738). No significant differences were observed for implant-related infection (7.9% vs. 7.1%; RR 1.120), implant revision surgery (22.9% vs. 20.4%; RR 1.125), mechanical complications (13.6% vs. 14.7%; RR 0.923), or TE removal (8.2% vs. 7.9%; RR 1.036). Sensitivity analyses confirmed these null findings across all exposure windows.
CONCLUSION
Postoperative adjuvant abemaciclib was not associated with increased reconstructive morbidity in patients undergoing TE-based breast reconstruction. These findings offer preliminary reassurance that abemaciclib can be integrated into the standard adjuvant treatment timeline without compromising late reconstructive outcomes.
DOI
10.1016/j.ejso.2026.112201
PMID
42858629
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
Want more like this?
Browse more from the feed. A free account unlocks the full feed, saving and communities.
Back to the research feed