Objective: To explore clinical effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in treating breast cancer. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed among 26 breast cancer patients receiving NAC. Chemotherapeutic effects were evaluated using Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST), Japanese Breast Cancer Society (JBCS) grading, and Miller and Payne (MP) grading. Results: After chemotherapy, the percentage of tumor cells was significantly reduced, but chemotherapeutic period possessed no dramatic influence on curative effects. Among 20 patients with complete data, 2 achieved clinically complete response (CR), 10 showed partial response (PR), 4 had stable disease (SD), and 4 exhibited progress disease (PD). The total effective rate (CR + PR) of NAC was 60% (12/20). Besides, evaluation results from RECIST were generally in line with those from JBCS grading and MP grading. Conclusion: NAC is effective among the majority of patients with breast cancer. In addition, tumor size determined through clinical palpation is generally in accordance with responses to chemotherapy, and consistent performance is observed for three systems in grading responses to chemotherapy.
Keywords: breast cancer; clinical effects; neoadjuvant chemotherapy; tumor.