Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer and Biological Markers Predicting Curative Effect

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer was originally used in locally inoperable and late-stage cancer in order to improve the surgical resection rate.It was then extended to be used in operable breast cancer.At present,it has become a frequently used option for systemic therapy in many breast cancers.It was well known that pathologic complete response(PCR)was one of the most important prognostic factors after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Identification of biological factors associated with PCR can help to distinguish patients with high or low probability of response to chemotherapy,so that an individualized treatment can be implemented.Some studies have investigated the relationship of neoadjuvant chemotherapy efficacy and various biological markers such as estrogen receptor(ER),progesterone receptor(PR),Her-2/neu(C-erbB2),et al.However,the conclusions are not consistent,the predictive values of various factors are inconsistent,and the expression of these factors may be affected by chemotherapy.