Neoadjuvant vs. Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Luminal B Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Where is...

IntroductionChemotherapy is used frequently in the neoadjuvant setting for breast cancers, most commonly triple negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) positive breast cancer. Certain hormone positive HER-2 negative cancers known as luminal B have shown response to adjuvant chemotherapy and can be considered in the neoadjuvant setting. This meta-analysis reviews survival outcomes in neoadjuvant chemotherapy in comparison to adjuvant in luminal B breast cancer.MethodsPubMed, Medline, and Embase were accessed on the 31^st of January 2024 to complete this systematic review and meta-analysis. All study types were included. Studies included compared survival rates in luminal B breast cancer patients in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting. All regimens of chemotherapy were included. Studies were included if they had at least median of 48 months follow up. Studies were excluded if they were non-comparative or did not report survival rates.ResultsTwo retrospective analyses comparing neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy were found from this systematic review, with a total of 4575 patients included. Of the 4575 patients, 679 received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (14.84%). Meta-analysis of these studies identified a non-significant trend of increased overall survival in the adjuvant chemotherapy arm with a hazard ratio of 1.85, confidence interval 0.98 - 3.48, (P value 0.058).DiscussionThis meta-analysis revealed a paucity of data in the comparison of neoadjuvant to adjuvant chemotherapy in luminal B breast cancer patients. Both studies identified were of a retrospective nature, and further research in this field should be considered.