Factors affecting the disease-free and overall survival following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with local advanced breast cancer

Abstract

Locally-advanced breast cancer (LABC) is termed as locally expanding tumor in breast not metastatic to distant organs. LABC therapy is a 'multimodal therapy' including systemic (chemotherapy) and local - regio-nal (surgery and radiotherapy) therapy. Before and after treatment results of post-therapy followed - up 96 patients who clinically diagnosed with stage III breast cancer and were applied neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 9 years (September 2005 - January 2013) in Izmir Katip Celebi University Atatürk Training and Research Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The median patient age at diagnosis was detected 49 years (25 - 86), 22.9% (n = 22) under 40 years of age, 77.1% (n = 74) were over the age of 40 at diagnosis. For diagnosed patients, histological type of tumor was invasive ductal carcinoma in 85.4% (n = 82), invasive lobular carcinoma in 5.2% (n = 5), mixed type (+ invasive ductal invasive lobular) carcinoma in 4.2% (n = 4). In the other 5 patients showed a rare histological type of tumor morphology. For breast cancer patients presenting with locally advanced tumors, NACT should be a standard treatment. Although overall survival of patients are the same, NACT provides apparent advantage on disease-free survival.