Waljee Jennifer F, Newman Lisa A
Department of Surgery, Breast Care Center, University of Michigan, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, 3308 CGC, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Surg Clin North Am. 2007 Apr;87(2):399-415, ix. doi: 10.1016/j.suc.2007.02.004.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is standard management for women who have locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer, but can be applied to all women who may require postoperative chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. Disease-free survival and overall survival are equivalent between patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and patients treated with the same regimen postoperatively. Preoperative chemotherapy can offer women less morbid surgical treatment by down-staging both the primary breast tumor and axillary metastases. Finally, response to chemotherapy can inform clinicians of the chemosensitivity of the tumor, and can predict long-term outcome for women who have breast cancer.
