SAN FRANCISCO – Only a fraction of patients with breast cancer who are eligible for neoadjuvant therapy are getting it, partly because of confusion around the significance of achieving a pathologic complete response, Dr. William M. Sikov said in an interview at a breast cancer symposium sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Sikov of Brown University, Providence, R.I., explained why it’s been difficult for researchers to show improved outcomes even after a pathologic complete response (pCR) is obtained, but argued that waiting for long-term outcomes data for neoadjuvant therapy could be a disservice to some patients with breast cancer.
Breast cancer surgeons at his own institution have become converts in favor of neoadjuvant therapy, and Dr. Sikov explained why in this video report.
He reported having no relevant financial disclosures.
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