Predictors of pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer

Abstract:

Objective：To discuss the general clinical factors for patients with breast cancer and to identify predicting function of im－munohistochemistry（IHC） for pathological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy（NAC） （docetaxel + epirubicin/ pirarubicin + cyclophosphamide）. Methods：From 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012，257 patients treated with NAC were included in this retrospective study．Data were compared using Chi-square，Fisher’s exact tests，likelyhood ratio or multivariate analysis of variance，etc. Results：Of the 257 breast cancer patients receiving NAC，42（16.3%） gained pCR. Five factors were associ－ated with pCR：tumor grade T1（P=0.006），estrogen receptor negative（P=0.000），progesterone receptor negative（P=0.013），Ki67（proliferation scores >30%，P=0.004） and giving birth to one child（P=0.032）. In multivariate analysis，double negative breast cancer（DNBC）（OR=7.248，95%CI=2.453 to 21.416），Ki67（proliferation scores >30%，OR=4.355，95%CI=1.513 to 12.537），giving birth to one child（OR=3.926，95%CI=1.040 to 14.821）were found to significantly correlate with pCR. Conclusion：DNBC，Ki67（prolifera－tion scores >30%），giving birth to one child are more likely to experience pCR to NAC. Childbearing history is newly identified as an important predictor.