Efficacy of a primary chemotherapy regimen combining vinorelbine, epirubicin, and methotrexate (VEM) as neoadjuvant treatment in 89 patients with operable breast cancer

Neoadjuvant dose-dense gemcitabine plus docetaxel and vinorelbine plus epirubicin for operable breast cancer: improved prognosis in triple-negative tumors

Background: Neoadjuvant anti-tumor activity of an alternating taxane- and anthracycline-based dose-dense regimen in patients with operable, noninflammatory large breast cancer was investigated.

Objective: The objective is to study the rate of pathological complete response in patients with breast cancer receiving dose-dense chemotherapy sequentially with gemcitabine plus docetaxel and vinorelbine plus epirubicin.

Methods: Women (n = 74) with clinical stage II or III breast cancer were enrolled in this open-label, multicenter study to receive six 2-weekly courses of gemcitabine 1000 mg/m² plus docetaxel 75 mg/m² on days 1 and 15, and vinorelbine 25 mg/m² plus epirubicin 100mg/m² on days 29 and 43. Patients with an objective response on day 56 then received another cycle of gemcitabine/ docetaxel on day 57 and of vinorelbine/epirubicin on day 71. Conservative surgery was scheduled for all patients.

Results: Of the patients enrolled, 30% had triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The pathologic complete response (pCR) rate was 22% overall, but was higher in TNBC than patients without TNBC (40.9% vs 14.0%; p=0.028). Among patients with a pCR, patients with TNBC had similar recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) to patients without TNBC. Among those without a pCR, RFS rates for patients with TNBC were significantly lower than for patients without TNBC (p=0.04). The most common severe hematologic toxicity was neutropenia.

Conclusions: Administering four drugs in a dose-dense alternating sequence gave a high pCR in patients with operable, invasive breast cancer. Patients with TNBC with a pCR had similar OS to patients without TNBC, whereas patients with TNBC without a pCR had poorer survival rate than their non- TNBC counterparts.

Does neoadjuvant chemotherapy increase breast conservation in operable breast cancer: an Egyptian experience

Introduction:

The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer is well established, as are its indications. Likewise, the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer is well established. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer has only recently become of interest to researchers.

Patients and methods:

This study included 34 cases of operable breast cancer that were given four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the form of FEC100 then subjected to surgery. The surgery done was either breast conserving surgery or modified radical mastectomy. All patients completed the treatment regimen and no patients were excluded from the study. All surgical specimens were studied pathologically for chemotherapy effect.

Results:

An overall objective response was observed in 70.6% of the patients. Seven patients (20.6%) experienced a clinical complete response (cCR), 17 patients (50.0%) had partial response, nine patients (26.5%) had no change of their disease and only one patient had disease progression. Of the seven patients who had a cCR, only four patients (11.8%) had pathologic complete response (pCR), while pCR for the whole group was 14.7%(5/34). Tumour size of more than 2 cm was observed in 28 patients (82.4%) at time of presentation, while tumour size of 2 cm or less was seen in six patients (17.6%) only. After completion of the course of chemotherapy, 23 patients (67.6%) were observed to have tumours of 2 cm or less that allowed for less extensive resections. Twenty-three patients underwent breast conservative surgery (67.6%) while modified radical mastectomy was performed in 11 patients (32.4%).

Conclusion:

The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer in this study was associated with tumour and axillary downstaging, which increased the proportion of cases undergoing breast conservation, with acceptable side effects and reasonable cost. During the limited follow-up time of this study no loco regional recurrences were recorded and one distant treatment failure was recorded. Its impact if any on overall or disease-free survival was not addressed in this study. Larger multi-centre randomized studies with a long follow-up are needed to compare the overall and disease-free survival benefit of this treatment modality, especially in different subtypes stratified by pathological response.

Changes and predictive and prognostic value of the mitotic index, Ki-67, cyclin D1, and cyclo-oxygenase-2 in 710 operable breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

The current study expands upon previous work using a database of 710 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. First, we studied phenotypic characteristics of tumors before and after chemotherapy using the following factors: the mitotic index of the Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grade, Ki-67, cyclin D1, and cyclo-oxygenase-2. Second, the predictive value of these factors on response was assessed. Third, we measured the prognostic impact of these markers post-therapy in comparison with clinical and pathological responses according to the Chevallier and Sataloff classifications. Patients were treated using different neoadjuvant chemotherapy combinations, mainly in successive prospective phase II trials. They received a median number of six cycles (range, 1-9). After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, patients underwent surgery and radiotherapy. In cases of important residual disease, some received additional courses of chemotherapy. In addition, menopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive tumors received tamoxifen for 5 years. According to our analysis, we found significant variations before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy only for cyclin D1 and the mitotic index. Concerning the predictive value of biomarkers for response, Ki-67 and the mitotic index were predictive on univariate analysis, both for objective clinical and pathological complete responses. Because these two factors were correlated, no multivariate analyses were conducted. We then assessed the prognostic impact of the biopathological factors. When the factors were measured before chemotherapy, all were prognostic. When evaluated after chemotherapy, the mitotic index, objective clinical response, and pathological complete response were prognostic. Because these factors were correlated, no multivariate model was done. The main clinical fact is that there were significant correlations between clinical and pathological responses and variations in the biological factors studied.

Changes in and prognostic value of hormone receptor status in a series of operable breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy

The aim of this study was to detect and analyze changes in hormone receptor (HR) status after treatment of operable breast cancer with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT). Patients were treated from 1982 to 2004 with different NCT combinations, mainly in successive prospective phase II trials. HR status before and after NCT was retested and reviewed in a blinded fashion by two pathologists, for 420 patients from a database of 710 patients. Among these 420 tumors, 145 (35%) were HR negative and 275 (65%) were HR positive before NCT. The HR status had changed after treatment in 98 patients (23%): 61 patients (42%) initially HR negative became HR positive. This HR-positive switch was significantly correlated with better overall survival (OS), compared with patients with unchanged HR-negative tumors. Moreover, this HR-positive switch also had an effect on disease-free survival (DFS). Conversely, 37 patients (13%) initially HR positive became HR negative after NCT. However, this group of previously positive patients still had a survival advantage for OS, but not for DFS. The Allred score was evaluated before and after chemotherapy. An increase in Allred score after NCT was significantly correlated with better DFS but not OS. It was previously shown, for other tumor parameters, that residual disease after NCT, rather than parameters evaluated on the initial biopsy, must be considered for patient prognosis. In this work, NCT induced variations in HR status in 23% of patients. A positive switch in HR status after NCT could be an indicator of better prognosis for patient outcome.

Achieving higher pathological complete response rates in HER-2-positive patients with induction chemotherapy without trastuzumab in operable breast cancer

Recent trials of induction chemotherapy in bulky operable breast cancer have shown much higher pathological complete response (pCR) rates with trastuzumab-driven combinations. However, it is useful to take into account the specific chemosensitivity of HER-2-positive tumors. The aim of this study was to assess the pCR rate according to HER-2 status in response to chemotherapy, without an anti-HER-2 specific biological agent, in 710 operable breast cancer patients. Since 1982, these patients have been treated with several different neoadjuvant chemotherapy combinations. During this period, HER-2 overexpression was most often not assessed. Subsequently, we assessed HER-2 expression using archival paraffin-embedded tissue. A technically usable specimen was available for 413 of the 710 patients. Before treatment, 51 patients were HER-2 positive, 287 patients were HER-2 negative, and the results were inconclusive for 75 patients. Of these patients, a pCR in breast and nodes was obtained in 94 patients (14.3%), but this event was threefold more frequent for HER-2-positive patients (23.5%) than for HER-2-negative patients (7%). The overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates at 10 years were 66.6% and 57.4%, respectively. The DFS rate was, as expected, better for HER-2-negative patients, with HER-2 status assessed before as well as after chemotherapy. A significant difference was found for OS in favor of HER-2-negative patients only with postchemotherapy assessment of HER-2, a fact similar to our previous findings. Finally, there was a tendency toward a higher DFS rate for HER-2-positive patients who achieved a pCR compared with HER-2-positive patients who did not.

Current and future roles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was initially used only as treatment for locally advanced breast cancer. However, because breast cancer is considered to be a systemic disease in which distant micrometastases are already present at the time of the initial diagnosis, primary systemic therapy may be beneficial in the eradication of these micrometastatic lesions. Despite the fact that no survival benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy over adjuvant chemotherapy has yet been demonstrated, the clinical indication for neoadjuvant chemotherapy is being extended not only to stage T3/4 tumors but also to some stage T1/2 operable breast cancers. The current clinical benefits of the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy are that (1) the safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is comparable with that of adjuvant chemotherapy, (2) neoadjuvant chemotherapy increases the possibility of the use of breast-conserving surgery, and (3) pathologic complete response may be a predictive indicator of better survival. Importantly, the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in vivo could provide a useful prediction of prognosis and help define strategies for an individual patient's future treatment with alternative chemotherapy regimens or molecular-targeting agents. Furthermore, the discovery of predictive markers for tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy through the analysis of complementary DNA microarrays and proteomics may also help facilitate individualized chemotherapy, particularly by improving survival in patients with breast cancer with a poor prognosis. Herein we review the current status and future role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer in terms of its survival benefit and the potential for the individualization of adjuvant therapy for these patients.

Pathological and Clinical Response of a Primary Chemotherapy Regimen Combining Vinorelbine, Epirubicin, and Paclitaxel as Neoadjuvant Treatment in Patients with Operable Breast Cancer

This phase II study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of a primary chemotherapy regimen combining vinorelbine, epirubicin, and paclitaxel (VEP protocol) in women with stage II/III operable breast cancer. Patients (n = 50) were treated with six cycles of VEP according to the following schedule: vinorelbine (Navelbine); Pierre Fabre, Boulogne, France; http://www.pierre-fabre.com) 20 mg/m2, epirubicin (Farmorubicin; Pharmacia, New York, NY; http://www.pnu.com) 35 mg/m2 given on days 1 and 8, paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, NY; http://www.bmsoncology.com) 175 mg/m2 given on day 9, and G-CSF 5 mg/kg/day given on days 10-20 of a 21-day cycle, followed by surgery and radiotherapy. After six cycles of VEP, the pathological response rate (pCR) in breast was confirmed in six patients (12%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3-21)) using Chevallier's classification and in nine patients (18%; 95% CI: 7.4-28.6) using Sataloff's classification. The clinical response rate was 42% (95% CI: 28.3-55.7), including 26% complete responses. Breast conservation was achieved in 68% of patients. After a median follow-up of 48 months (range, 34-62 months), 16 relapses were observed. The overall and disease-free survivals at 5 years were 54.1% (95% CI: 40.3-67.9) and 38% (95% CI: 24.1-51.9), respectively. The principal toxicities of VEP were grade 3/4 neutropenia observed in 30% of patients and grade 3 anemia observed in 12% of patients. There was no case of severe cardiac toxicity, thrombocytopenia, or any other serious adverse events. In conclusion, whereas this regimen was relatively well tolerated, it appears inferior to other regimens and its use is not recommended.

Is Nottingham prognostic index useful after induction chemotherapy in operable breast cancer?

The Nottingham prognostic index (NPI), based on tumour size in breast, node involvement and Scarff–Bloom–Richardson (SBR) grading, has been shown to constitute a definitive prognostic factor of primary operable breast cancer in the adjuvant setting. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the prognostic value of this index in 163 patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Secondly, we examined the influence on survival of a revised NPI, only based on residual tumour size in breast and SBR grading in 228 patients, and consequently called breast grading index (BGI). The prognostic value of these two indices was also evaluated by replacing the SBR grade with the MSBR grade, a French modified SBR grading; the modified NPI (MNPI) and modified BGI (MBGI) were, respectively, obtained in 153 and 222 patients. At a median follow-up of 9.3 years, survival was significantly related to these four indices (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that MBGI was the only one which retained a prognostic influence on disease-free survival (P<0.02). In conclusion, the ‘amount’ of residual tumour in breast and/or nodes, as defined by NPI and revised indices, confers a determinant prognosis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, inviting an alternative postsurgical treatment for a subgroup of patients with a decreased survival.