Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced primary breast cancers: the Nottingham experience

Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Creates Surgery Opportunities For Inoperable Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), the systematic chemotherapy given to patients with locally advanced and inoperable breast caner, has been proven to be of great clinical values. Many scientific reports confirmed NAC could effectively eliminate sub-clinical disseminated lesions of tumor, and improve long-term and disease-free survival rate of patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC); however, up to now, LABC is still a serious clinical issue given improved screening and early diagnosis. This study, with main focus on inoperable LABC, investigated the values of NAC in converting inoperable LABC into operable status and assessed the prognosis. Sixty-one patients with inoperable LABC were initially treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy; their local conditions were improved to operable status. Radical surgery was exerted on 49 patients. Original chemotherapy was performed after surgery, followed by local radiotherapy. And endocrine therapy was optional according to the hormone receptor status. The quality of life for most patients with skin diabrosis was obviously improved because their local conditions were under control. For all recruited cases, the survival duration and life quality were significantly improved in patients who finished both NAC and surgery compared to those who did not. Further more, this study demonstrates improved prognostic consequences.

Taxane and anthracycline based neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer: institutional experience

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to assess the response rates (clinical and pathological ) with docetaxel and epirubicin combination chemotherapy and its effect on outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively analysed locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients who received NACT from January 2008 to December 2012 in our tertiary care centre. LABC constituted 37% of all breast cancer cases and 120 patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The regimens used for NACT were, six cycles of DEC (docetaxel 75 mg/m2, epirubicin 75 mg/ m2, cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2 on Day 1, 3 weekly) and a sequential regimen (4 cycles of FEC, 5-flurouracil 600 mg/m2, epirubicin 75 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel 85 mg/m2).

RESULTS

The median age was 47 years (range 23-72). Ninety six ( 80 %) had T4 disease and 90% had clinically palpable lymph nodes at diagnosis. The median size of primary tumor at presentation was 5.9 cm. Hormone receptor positivity was seen in 55% and HER2/neu positivity, in 25%. Triple negative breast cancers constituted 25 % of the cases. The overall clinical response rate ( complete or partial ) was 85% and pathological complete responses were obtained in 15%. Four cases defaulted, 5 patients died of treatment related toxicity and 15% developed febrile neutropenia on DEC. The median duration of follow up was 22 months. The median time to relapse was 20 months and the 3 year relapse free and overall survival rates were 50% and 70% respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

LABC constituted 37% of all breast cancer cases at our institute. With NACT, pCR was seen in 15% of the cases. Sequential chemotherapy was better tolerated than concurrent anthracyline and taxane chemotherapy with a similar pCR.

Prognostic Factors in Patients with Stage II/III Breast Cancer Treated with Adjuvant Extension of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study with Ten-Years of Follow-Up Data

PURPOSE

The aim of this retrospective study was to identify the reliable long term prognostic factors in patients with stage II/III breast cancer who were treated with an adjuvant extension of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC).

METHODS

Women under the age of 70-years, with previously untreated clinical stage II and III breast cancer, were treated with NC, which was comprised of three cycles of FEC (5-FU, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide every 3 weeks) or MMM (methotrexate, mitoxantrone, and mitomycin-C every 3 weeks) with an adjuvant extension of three cycles of the same regimen.

RESULTS

Cumulative 10-years disease-free survival (DFS) was 87.3% for patients with a good response and 55.5% for patients with no response (p=0.032); 92.9% for node negative patients, 75.0% for 1-3 positive nodes, 50.0% for 4-9 positive nodes and no survival for 10 or more positive nodes (p<0.001). Cumulative 10-years overall survival (OS) was 89.1% for patients with good response and 55.5% for patients with no response (p=0.024); 95.2% for node negative patients, 80.0% for 1-3 positive nodes, 50.0% for 4-9 positive nodes and no survival for 10 or more positive nodes (p<0.001). No significant difference was observed in DFS and OS between the FEC and MMM treated groups.

CONCLUSION

Based on a review of data with a long follow-up, only the clinical response to NC and the absolute number of metastatic axillary lymph node identified at surgical staging were independent predictors of both DFS and OS in patients with stage II/III breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant extension of NC.

Primary Endocrine Therapy for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer-Is it an Inferior Approach? Experience from Nottingham

Treatment strategy for locally advanced primary breast cancer(LAPC) remains mainly multimodal involving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery followed by radiotherapy and endocrine therapy, all given upfront. There have been few studies comparing this with a sequential treatment approach, for instance, using endocrine therapy as initial treatment. Based on small randomised clinical trials and local experience in Nottingham, primary endocrine therapy has been shown to produce very good early (response) and late (survival) outcome when used in ER positive, noninflammatory LAPC. This could be considered as a viable therapeutic option in appropriately selected patients.

Triple negative phenotype and N-ratio are important for prognosis in patients with stage IIIB non-inflammatory breast carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The aim is to evaluate novel prognostic factors such as triple negative (TN) phenotype and ratio between positive nodes and total dissected lymph nodes (N-ratio) in stage IIIB breast carcinoma patients.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, primary endpoints were local recurrence (LR), distant recurrence (DR), and overall survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate prognostic factor analyses were carried out using Cox and Kaplan-Meier methods in the data of 185 patients.

RESULTS

The median observation time was 36 (range 16-86) months. Pathological tumor size (continuous [cont.], P = 0.002; Hazard ratio [HR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.3) and N-ratio (cont., P < 0.0001; HR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03) were strongly associated with LR. Tumor phenotype (triple vs. non-triple, P = 0.002; HR, 2.6; CI, 1.4-4.7), N-ratio (cont., P = 0.01; HR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03) and pathological tumor size (cont., P = 0.003; HR, 1.2; CI, 1.1-1.3) for DR, and also tumor phenotype (triple vs. non-triple, P < 0.0001; HR, 3.7; CI, 1.8-7.5), N-ratio (cont., P = 0.03; HR, 1.02; CI, 1.01-1.03) and pathological tumor size (cont., P = 0.006; HR, 1.3; CI, 1.2-1.4) for OS were the most important prognostic factors.

CONCLUSIONS

N-Ratio and TN phenotype were the most important prognostic factors for stage IIIB breast carcinoma patients.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer: a single center experience

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is one of the treatment options for patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). Preoperative chemotherapy potentially may reduce the extent of the surgery and offers the opportunity to assess the chemosensitivity of the tumor in vivo. Herein, we evaluated the results of NAC in Turkish LABC patients. We retrospectively analyzed 73 LABC patients. Anthracycline/taxane-based chemotherapy regimens were administered. Patients were stratified according to age, menopausal status, type of surgery, response to the treatment, histopathological properties, and survival. After 3-6 cycles of chemotherapy, patients were re-staged radiologically and surgery was performed in operable patients. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered as needed. The median age was 45 (29-93) at the time of diagnosis. Sixteen percentage of patients were younger than 35 years of age and 45.2% were premenopausal. Median follow-up time was 20.2 months. Sixty-seven out of 73 patients responded to therapy (89%). Breast conserving surgery was possible in the 15% of the patients. In histopathological analysis, lymph node invasion was detected in 85%. The estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor were positive in 78.1% and c-erb-B2 was positive in 17.5% of patients. The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 44 months (SE: 9; %95 CI: 27.1-60.8), overall survival (OS) was not reached at the time of analysis. Three-year DFS and OS were 58% and 91.9%, respectively. In a multivariate Cox regression analyses; no demographic or pathologic prognostic parameter predicted overall survival. In recent years, NAC in breast cancer has become a viable treatment option for patients with LABC. NAC is not commonly applied in Turkey. The response rate to NAC in Turkish breast cancer patients is encouragingly high. Broader efforts should be made to evaluate breast cancer patients preoperatively at tumor boards for proper treatment sequence.

Primary endocrine therapy in locally advanced breast cancers--the Nottingham experience

INTRODUCTION

There are trials comparing different neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens for locally advanced primary breast cancer (LAPC). Few studies have evaluated alternative therapeutic approaches towards LAPC. A previous trial from our institute in LAPC patients unselected for oestrogen receptor (ER) status, comparing primary endocrine therapy versus multimodal treatment, showed no difference in breast cancer related deaths or overall survival. We report our experience of primary endocrine therapy in ER+ LAPC.

METHODS

Between 1988 and 2007, 195 ER+, non-inflammatory LAPC patients were treated with primary endocrine agents in our institute, due to patient choice, being unfit for chemotherapy, or recruitment into the above mentioned trial. All patients had disease assessable by UICC criteria.

RESULTS

Median age was 69 years. The median follow-up was 61 months. 154 patients (79%) received endocrine treatment alone. 185 patients (95%) derived clinical benefit (complete response/ partial response/ stable disease) for > or =6 months from primary endocrine therapy. Overall 5-year survival was 76% and 5-year breast cancer specific survival was 86%.

CONCLUSION

In selected group of ER+ LAPC patients, primary endocrine treatment achieves excellent survival outcome and is a viable alternative to other modalities of treatment.