The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

The utility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is expanding in the treatment of breast cancer. Although individual trials have shown comparable survival between patients receiving neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, large-scale data analyses for outcomes in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Farhad Ghasemi, Muriel Brackstone
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Current Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/10/448
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850205151803998208
author Farhad Ghasemi
Muriel Brackstone
author_facet Farhad Ghasemi
Muriel Brackstone
author_sort Farhad Ghasemi
collection DOAJ
description The utility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is expanding in the treatment of breast cancer. Although individual trials have shown comparable survival between patients receiving neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, large-scale data analyses for outcomes in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) are lacking. We conducted an individual-level statistical analysis using patients from six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating survival outcomes with neoadjuvant versus adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer by abstracting and analyzing only the patients with LABC. Individual patient data for 779 patients with LABC were collected from six RCTs. Overall and disease-free survival rates were compared between patients receiving neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant chemotherapy with the Cox hazard model and log-rank statistics. Since chemotoxicity causing delays to surgical care is a potential drawback of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, local cohort data were then employed to assess the actual incidence of this, along with the causes behind any delays to surgery in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A time interval from neoadjuvant chemotherapy to surgery of >8 weeks was investigated in a local cohort of 563 patients, representing all locally treated patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2006 and 2019. The statistical analysis demonstrated no overall or disease-free survival differences in LABC patients receiving neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant chemotherapy (<i>p</i> = 0.96 and 0.74, respectively). Within our cohort, 31 (5.5%) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy experienced a delay of >8 weeks to surgery, with only 13 (2.3%) attributed to chemotherapy-related complications. Our study provides further support for the paradigm shift towards delivering chemotherapy for breast cancer patients in the neoadjuvant setting.
format Article
id doaj-art-d077cdeeda2e4cb0b324700a150d6263
institution OA Journals
issn 1198-0052
1718-7729
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Current Oncology
spelling doaj-art-d077cdeeda2e4cb0b324700a150d62632025-08-20T02:11:09ZengMDPI AGCurrent Oncology1198-00521718-77292024-10-0131106007601610.3390/curroncol31100448The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast CancerFarhad Ghasemi0Muriel Brackstone1Division of General Surgery, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, CanadaDivision of General Surgery, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, CanadaThe utility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is expanding in the treatment of breast cancer. Although individual trials have shown comparable survival between patients receiving neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, large-scale data analyses for outcomes in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) are lacking. We conducted an individual-level statistical analysis using patients from six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating survival outcomes with neoadjuvant versus adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer by abstracting and analyzing only the patients with LABC. Individual patient data for 779 patients with LABC were collected from six RCTs. Overall and disease-free survival rates were compared between patients receiving neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant chemotherapy with the Cox hazard model and log-rank statistics. Since chemotoxicity causing delays to surgical care is a potential drawback of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, local cohort data were then employed to assess the actual incidence of this, along with the causes behind any delays to surgery in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A time interval from neoadjuvant chemotherapy to surgery of >8 weeks was investigated in a local cohort of 563 patients, representing all locally treated patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2006 and 2019. The statistical analysis demonstrated no overall or disease-free survival differences in LABC patients receiving neoadjuvant vs. adjuvant chemotherapy (<i>p</i> = 0.96 and 0.74, respectively). Within our cohort, 31 (5.5%) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy experienced a delay of >8 weeks to surgery, with only 13 (2.3%) attributed to chemotherapy-related complications. Our study provides further support for the paradigm shift towards delivering chemotherapy for breast cancer patients in the neoadjuvant setting.https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/10/448locally-advanced breast cancerdelayneoadjuvantpre-operative chemotherapy
spellingShingle Farhad Ghasemi
Muriel Brackstone
The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
Current Oncology
locally-advanced breast cancer
delay
neoadjuvant
pre-operative chemotherapy
title The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
title_full The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
title_fullStr The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
title_short The Impact of Neoadjuvant versus Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Survival Outcomes in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
title_sort impact of neoadjuvant versus adjuvant chemotherapy on survival outcomes in locally advanced breast cancer
topic locally-advanced breast cancer
delay
neoadjuvant
pre-operative chemotherapy
url https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/10/448
work_keys_str_mv AT farhadghasemi theimpactofneoadjuvantversusadjuvantchemotherapyonsurvivaloutcomesinlocallyadvancedbreastcancer
AT murielbrackstone theimpactofneoadjuvantversusadjuvantchemotherapyonsurvivaloutcomesinlocallyadvancedbreastcancer
AT farhadghasemi impactofneoadjuvantversusadjuvantchemotherapyonsurvivaloutcomesinlocallyadvancedbreastcancer
AT murielbrackstone impactofneoadjuvantversusadjuvantchemotherapyonsurvivaloutcomesinlocallyadvancedbreastcancer