The so-called neoadjuvant chemotherapy refers to chemotherapy before surgery. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer patients is mainly seen in the following situations: First, some patients have large tumors, and direct surgery is difficult. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can reduce the tumor size and create conditions for surgery. Secondly, some patients are unwilling to accept total mastectomy and want to retain part of the breast. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can improve the rate of breast-conserving surgery. Thirdly, according to clinical studies, the recurrence rate of some patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery is lower than that of surgery before chemotherapy.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for
breast cancer specifically refers to preoperative chemotherapy. The advantages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy are killing micrometastases hidden in distant organs, reducing the stage of tumors to facilitate surgery, reducing tumors to breast-conserving surgery or turning inoperable into operable, which can not be achieved by surgical treatment or postoperative chemotherapy.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can also observe the sensitivity of patients to chemotherapy drugs, so that doctors can adjust the treatment plan in time.
The specific plan
of neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be based on the pathological classification, molecular classification, past medical history, physical condition, economic status and other factors of the patient’s tumor, and the individualized medical plan should be formulated together.
There are many neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens for
breast cancer, which combine different chemotherapy drugs. Commonly used chemotherapy drugs are: paclitaxel, albumin paclitaxel, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, cisplatin, carboplatin, trastuzumab, pertuzumab and so on. Specific chemotherapy regimens need to be considered comprehensively according to their stages, patients’treatment objectives, physical conditions, and tolerance. The advantage of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is to kill small metastases hidden in distant organs, to reduce the stage of tumors for surgery, to reduce tumors to breast-conserving surgery or to change inoperable to operable. These can not be achieved by surgical treatment or postoperative chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can also observe the sensitivity of patients to chemotherapy drugs, so that doctors can adjust the treatment plan in time. The specific plan of neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be formulated according to the pathological classification, molecular classification, past medical history, physical condition, economic status and other factors of the patient’s tumor.
