Clinical Course of Breast Cancer Patients With Complete Pathologic Primary Tumor and Axillary Lymph Node Response to Doxorubicin-Based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has the capacity to completely clear the breast and axillary lymph nodes of invasive tumor before surgery. Patients with LABC who have a pCR in the breast and axillary nodes have a significantly improved disease-free survival rate. However, a pCR does not entirely eliminate recurrence. Further efforts should focus on elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with this response.