Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin as neoadjuvant therapy for stage II-III locally advanced breast cancer

Conventional anthracyclines represent a cornerstone drug in the treatment of breast cancer. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) has similar efficacy to anthracyclines with reduced toxicity. This study was to compare the efficacy and safety of PLD-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with epirubicin-based treatment for breast cancer. 81 breast cancer patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. The objective response rate (ORR) in the PLD group was 74.1%, the 3-year disease-free survival(DFS) and overall survival(OS) were 81.5% and 88.9%. The PLD group achieved similar efficacy to the EPI group. The PLD group showed a low rate of neutropenia , nausea and vomiting, but a higher rate of mucositis and hand-foot syndrome. In neoadjuvant chemotherapy for invasive breast cancer, PLD provides comparable efficacy to epirubicin with a safe cardiac toxicity profile and manageable adverse effects.