Predicting Local Metastases After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
In patients who achieved breast pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the risk for local axillary metastasis is low, according to Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD, and colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. These findings suggest that women with initial node-negative disease may avoid breast and axillary surgery if they achieve a pCR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and move on to standard radiotherapy.
This cohort study consisted of 527 consecutive patients with initial clinical triple-negative (T1/T2, N0/N1) and HER2-positive subtypes treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by standard breast and nodal surgery from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2014. Of the 527 patients included in the study, 263 had HER2-positive disease and 264 had triple-negative disease. In this study group who achieved a pCR in the breast after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 185 of 193 patients (95.9%) achieved an axillary pCR.
