Lymph node response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and correlation with relapse free survival in breast cancer at Yaoundé General Hospital

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the first cancer all sexes considered, in Cameroon. In this study we evaluated the impact of lymph node response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and its relationship to relapse free survival (RFS) in our oncologic unit.

Method: We carried out a cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection from January 2013 to December 2019. In our study, records of patients with histologically and cytologically confirmed breast cancer started on NACT, and whose anatomopathological reports of the surgical specimen were found and exploitable for an analysis of the therapeutic response were included.

Results: A total of 67 patients were recruited: 66 (98.5%) female and 1(1.5%) male. The peak frequency was noted in the age group 50 to 65 years. The most used protocol was RESUME FAC50 (43.28%). 55.2% of patients presented with axillary lymph nodes with breast nodules being the most common sign found (97.1%). More than half of the patients (59.71%) presented with at least a clinical N1 according to TNM staging system. In patients who had a total therapeutic effect or a 50% effect or more, we obtained a median of 36.27 months [95%CI: 30.26-42.27] of RFS. In contrast, we had a median of 19.08 months [95% CI: 5.65-32.52] for patients with less than 50% lymph node response (p=0.016).

Conclusion: Lymph node response after NACT is a potential marker for RFS and a potential marker for disease overall survival.