Purpose: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is employed in patients with breast cancer (BC) with the aim of reducing tumor burden and improving surgical outcomes. We evaluated the levels of energy metabolites pre- and post-radiotherapy (RT) in breast cancer (BC) patients who previously received NACT and investigated the alterations of these metabolites in relation to the patient achieving a pathologic complete response to NACT.
Materials and methods: We included 37 BC patients who were treated with NACT following surgery and analyzed the concentrations of energy balance-related metabolites using targeted metabolomics before and one month after the end of RT. The control group was composed of 44 healthy women.
Results: Pre-radiotherapy, patients had significant decreases in the plasma levels of 12 metabolites. RT corrected these alterations and the improvement was superior in patients with a pathologic complete response.
Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of metabolism in the outcomes of patients with BC.
Keywords: Breast cancer; Energy metabolism; Neoadjuvant chemotherapy; Radiotherapy.