Pathological response for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced breast cancer at NCI, Sudan: 6 years’ experience

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cancer in Sudanese females.Objectives: This study was done to evaluate the clinical response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients treated at National Cancer Institute (NCI) and to compare it with the published literature.Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in National Cancer Institute (NCI), Gezira State, Sudan during the period from April 2005 to August 2011. We studied the data for all patients who have locally advanced breast cancer and treated at NCI during study period. Patients who remained inoperable after treatment were considered as having no response to therapy. Data were introduced and analyzed using SPSS software. Data evaluated includes Patient age, disease stage, chemotherapy regimens, and number of cycles, tumor histology, grade and histopathology after chemotherapy.Results: A total of 110 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and fulfilled criteria for inclusion during the period 2005 to 2011 were evaluated. Majority of patients were between 30-50 years of age (63%). Patients who achieved response and had surgery were 65%. Among those who underwent surgery 22% have complete pathological response. Most of patients who achieved complete histopathological response had six cycles of chemotherapy.Conclusion: this study demonstrated that neoadjuvant systemic therapy is an accepted approach for women with locally advanced breast cancer for whom immediate surgery is inappropriate, and we achieved results similar to the international literature.Key words: breast cancer, neoadjuvant, chemotherapy, response, NCI, Sudan