Preoperative chemotherapy followed by mastectomy for locally advanced breast cancer

Six patients with advanced local-regional breast cancer were reviewed. Five out of the six patients previously had had radiation therapy as part of the initial therapy. All patients had preoperative cycles of combination chemotherapy, either CMF or CAF. The two stage III patients had greater than 75% reduction in measurable tumor mass, which allowed a conventional modified radical or radical mastectomy to be performed. Both of these patients are now disease free at 26 and 27 months. The four stage IV patients had lesser operations following the chemotherapy (two simple mastectomies, one simple mastectomy plus axillary resection, and one axillary debulking). Reconstruction utilized advancement flaps in three patients and split-thickness skin grafts in the other. None of the patients had postoperative wound problems, and none of the patients had further problems with local cancer control. All patients had combination chemotherapy starting two to six weeks following surgery. Preoperative chemotherapy followed by surgery plays an important role in management of locally advanced stage III and stage IV breast cancer.