Decrease of peripheral blood lymphocyte count predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Pathologic complete response (pCR) is a key indicator of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) efficacy in breast cancer.
• Peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) counts have emerged as potential biomarkers for predicting NAC response.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between changes in PBL count and pCR in breast cancer patients undergoing NAC.
• To determine if PBL count dynamics can serve as a prognostic factor for NAC response.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 61 breast cancer patients treated with NAC and mastectomy.
• Correlational analyses and logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between PBL count changes and pCR.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to identify optimal PBL decrease cutoff values.

Main Results:

• 14 patients (22.9%) achieved pCR, with most showing a decrease in PBL count post-NAC.
• A smaller decrease in PBL count was significantly associated with achieving pCR (P=0.028).
• A PBL decrease cutoff of 755×10^6/L differentiated groups with significantly different pCR rates (38.46% vs 11.43%).

Conclusions:

• Decreased PBL count after NAC is significantly associated with pCR in breast cancer patients.
• Monitoring PBL count reduction post-NAC may offer a valuable tool for predicting treatment response.
• These findings support the utility of PBL dynamics as a predictive biomarker for NAC in breast cancer.