Pathologic Complete Response after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Impact on Breast Cancer Recurrence and Survival: A...

While various studies have highlighted the prognostic significance of pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAT), the impact of additional adjuvant therapy after pCR is not known.

PubMed was searched for studies with NAT for breast cancer and individual patient-level data was extracted for analysis using plot digitizer software. HRs, with 95% probability intervals (PI), measuring the association between pCR and overall survival (OS) or event-free survival (EFS), were estimated using Bayesian piece-wise exponential proportional hazards hierarchical models including pCR as predictor.

Overall, 52 of 3,209 publications met inclusion criteria, totaling 27,895 patients. Patients with a pCR after NAT had significantly better EFS (HR = 0.31; 95% PI, 0.24-0.39), particularly for triple-negative (HR = 0.18; 95% PI, 0.10-0.31) and HER2⁺ (HR = 0.32; 95% PI, 0.21-0.47) disease. Similarly, pCR after NAT was also associated with improved survival (HR = 0.22; 95% PI, 0.15-0.30). The association of pCR with improved EFS was similar among patients who received subsequent adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.36; 95% PI, 0.19-0.67) and those without adjuvant chemotherapy (HR = 0.36; 95% PI, 0.27-0.54), with no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.60).

Achieving pCR following NAT is associated with significantly better EFS and OS, particularly for triple-negative and HER2⁺ breast cancer. The similar outcomes with or without adjuvant chemotherapy in patients who attain pCR likely reflects tumor biology and systemic clearance of micrometastatic disease, highlighting the potential of escalation/deescalation strategies in the adjuvant setting based on neoadjuvant response.See related commentary by Esserman, p. 2771.