RT Book, Section
A1 Meric-Bernstam, Funda
A2 Kuerer, Henry M.
SR Print(0)
ID 6416942
T1 Chapter 85. Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
T2 Kuerer's Breast Surgical Oncology
YR 2010
FD 2010
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-160178-8
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6416942
RD 2024/04/25
AB Neoadjuvant  (or  preoperative)  chemotherapy  is  being  increasingly  used  for  the  treatment  of  breast  cancer.  Response  to  neoadjuvant  chemotherapy  may  convert  an  inoperable  breast  cancer  to  an  operable  tumor.  By  downsizing  the  tumor,  neoadjuvant  chemotherapy  also  increases  the  possibility  of  breast-conserving  surgery  in  a  larger  number  of  patients1,2  (Fig.  85-1A).  In  addition,  in  patients  who  have  operable  breast  cancer  at  the  onset,  the  delivery  of  neoadjuvant  chemotherapy  allows  for  excisions  of  smaller  volumes  of  breast  tissue.  Indeed,  this  was  shown  in  a  study  by  Boughey  et  al3  in  which  patients  treated  with  neoadjuvant  therapy  were  compared  with  patients  who  underwent  adjuvant  chemotherapy.  For  patients  who  had  an  initial  tumor  size  greater  than  2  cm,  neoadjuvant  chemotherapy  was  found  to  allow  for  significantly  smaller  volumes  of  breast  tissue  to  be  excised  (113  cm3  vs  213  cm3,  p  =  0.004).  In  this  study,  the  delivery  of  neoadjuvant  chemotherapy  did  not  alter  the  reexcision  rate  or  the  number  of  operations  performed  in  the  2  groups.