Key clinical point: Achievement of pathologic complete response (pCR) or residual tumor cellularity (RTC) <40% is associated with improved survival outcomes in patients with breast cancer (BC) who have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).
Major finding: Early clinical stage (cT1-2), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive BC subtype, and absence of vascular invasion predicted the achievement of pCR after NAC (all P = .001). Patients who achieved pCR vs pathologic partial response (pPR) had significantly longer overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and distant disease-free survival (DDFS; all P < .001). However, among patients with pPR, RTC <40% vs ≥40% was associated with significantly longer DFS (P = .033) and DDFS (P = .015).
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective analysis including 495 patients with BC who underwent NAC, of which 29.9% of patients achieved pCR.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Gentile D et al. Pathologic response and residual tumor cellularity after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy predict prognosis in breast cancer patients. Breast. 2023;69:323-329 (Mar 27). Doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2023.03.016