Breast Cancer Patients: Who Would Benefit from Neoadjuvant Chemotherapies?

Abstract

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) was developed with the aims of shrinking tumors or stopping cancer cells from spreading before surgery. Unfortunately, not all breast cancer patients will benefit from NACT, and thus, patients must weigh the risks and benefits of treatment prior to the initiation of therapy. Currently, the data for predicting the efficacy of NACT is limited. Molecular testing, such as Oncotype DX, MammaPrint, and Curebest 95GC, have been developed to assist which breast cancer patients will benefit from the treatment. Patients with an increased level of Human Leukocyte Antigen-DR isotype, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, Fizzy-related protein homolog, and a decreased level of tumor-associated macrophages appear to benefit most from NACT.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs)
• Human Leukocyte Antigen-DR (HLA-DR)
• neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT)
• pathologic complete response (pCR)
• tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs)