Experience of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer at a public hospital: retrospective study

WK Hung, Y Lau, CM Chan, AWC Yip
Breast Centre, Department of Surgery, Kwong Wah Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE. To review local experience of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

DESIGN. Retrospective study.

SETTING. Public hospital, Hong Kong.

PATIENTS. Seventeen patients who presented from August 1988 through April 1997 with locally advanced breast cancer, which was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

RESULTS. The clinical response rate was 71% and two of the 12 patients who responded to chemotherapy achieved complete remission. Three patients had their tumours downstaged sufficiently to allow them to undergo breast conservation surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. None of these three patients has so far had a local recurrence of disease.

CONCLUSION. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can achieve a high objective response rate in patients with locally advanced breast cancer and thus enables breast conservation surgery to be performed on patients who are initially not suitable for this procedure.

Hong Kong Med J 2000;6:265-8

Key words: Antineoplastic agents, combined; Breast neoplasms/surgery; Neoadjuvant therapy; Neoplasm recurrence, local; Neoplasm staging