The Impact of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Patients With T1N0M0 Triple-Negative and HER-2 Positive Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis Based on the SEER Database.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The utilization of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) originated in the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer (BC). Our study is designed to elucidate the effects of NAC on patients with T1N0M0 triple-negative and HER-2 positive BC. METHODS: This study involved the selection of 10,614 patients diagnosed with T1N0M0 triple-negative and HER-2 positive breast cancer (BC) from the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) database. To ascertain the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on T1a, T1b, and T1c N0M0 BC, we conducted multivariate Cox regression analyses. Similarly, we performed multivariate Cox regression analyses to compare the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy against adjuvant chemotherapy on T1N0M0 BC. The Kaplan-Meier method was employed to delineate survival curves for different molecular subtypes and clinical stages. RESULTS: The data results from the SEER database reveal a significant enhancement of overall survival (OS) in T1c BC patients as a result of NAC. For T1b BC patients, NAC does not present any significant effect. Contrarily, NAC seems to adversely impact the OS of T1a triple-negative BC patients. However, the prognosis comparison between neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy for T1N0M0 breast cancer did not show any significant difference, with the exception of T1a triple-negative BC. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with T1cN0M0 triple-negative and HER-2 positive BC may derive OS benefits from NAC. Additionally, NAC could be detrimental to T1a triple-negative BC.