Markers of Predicting Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer: New in Molecular Oncology

It is known that complete pathomorphological response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy (NAC) in patients with breast cancer (BC) correlates with higher rates of recurrence-free and overall survival. In turn, the widespread use of neoadjuvant therapy for the treatment of breast cancer defines the clinical need for prognostic markers of response to ongoing therapy. Currently, some clinicopathological prognostic factors are used to assess the potential benefit of neoadjuvant systemic therapy for female patients, but they have limited applicability. In the era of precision medicine and personalised treatment, a search for new prognostic markers is needed to better tailor patient-specific therapy. To date, novel factors have been proposed to predict response to preoperative treatment in breast cancer patients, but they are either not yet used in routine clinical practice or have limited application. Thus, this review summarises data on both established and proven biomarkers and the latest prognostic factors for response to neoadjuvant treatment in breast cancer patients.