PA Medical News about locally advanced breast cancer;neoadjuvant chemotherapy

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Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer: a single center experience
Medical Oncology, 06/05/09

Ustaalioglu BBO et al. - In a study to evaluate the results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in Turkish locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) pts, it was found that the response rate to NAC in Turkish breast cancer pts is encouragingly high. Broader efforts should be made to evaluate breast cancer pts preoperatively at tumor boards for proper treatment sequence.

Methods

73 LABC pts were retrospectively analyzed.
Anthracycline/taxane-based chemotherapy regimens were administered.
Pts were stratified according to age, menopausal status, type of surgery, response to treatment, histopathological properties, and survival.
After 3–6 cycles of chemotherapy, pts were re-staged radiologically and surgery was performed in operable pts.
Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered as needed.

Results

Median age was 45 (29–93) at the time of diagnosis.
16% of pts were younger than 35 yrs of age and 45.2% were premenopausal.
Median follow-up time was 20.2 mos.
67 of 73 pts responded to therapy (89%).
Breast-conserving surgery was possible in 15% of pts.
In histopathological analysis, lymph node invasion was detected in 85%.
Estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors were positive in 78.1% and c-erb-B2 was positive in 17.5% of pts.
Median disease-free survival (DFS) was 44 mos, overall survival (OS) was not reached at the time of analysis.
3-year DFS and OS were 58% and 91.9%, respectively.
In multivariate Cox regression analyses; no demographic or pathologic prognostic parameter predicted OS.
NAC in breast cancer has become a viable treatment option for pts with LABC; NAC is not commonly applied in Turkey.