Clinical Edge Journal Scan

Exceptional responders to neoadjuvant systemic therapy may omit breast cancer surgery


 

Key clinical point: Breast cancer (BC) surgery may be eliminated in patients with early-stage triple-negative BC (TNBC) or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) BC who have achieved pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST).

Major finding: After a median follow-up of 26.4 months, there were no incidences of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence in the 31 patients who had achieved a pCR on percutaneous image-guided vacuum-assisted core biopsy (VACB) after NST.

Study details : Findings are from a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 study including 50 patients with invasive HER2+ BC or TNBC who received percutaneous image-guided VACB after NST.

Disclosures: This study was funded by the US National Cancer Institute. Some authors declared serving in leadership roles or receiving consulting fees, honorarium, royalties, or research funding from several sources.

Source: Kuerer HM et al. Eliminating breast surgery for invasive breast cancer in exceptional responders to neoadjuvant systemic therapy: A multicentre, single-arm, phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2022 (Oct 25). Doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(22)00613-1

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