The role of platinum-based antineoplastic drugs and their impact on complete pathological response and prognosis in patients with BRCA-associated triple-negative breast cancer after neoadjuvant treatment: a single institution experience

Abstract

Background. BRCA-associated triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is considered one of the most aggressive subtypes of breast cancer with high sensitivity to chemotherapy, which leads to increased interest in finding new treatment options for patients with this subtype of breast cancer. Aim. To determine the role of adding a platinum drug to standard systemic neoadjuvant therapy (NAC) for patients with primary BRCA-associated TNBC with clinical stage T1–3N0–3M0, and to evaluate the effect of platinum-based drugs on recurrence-free survival in patients of this category. Materials and methods. The study included 75 patients diagnosed with primary BRCA-associated TNBC. They were divided into 2 groups depending on the NAC provided, and then they were subdivided depending on the completion of the course of ongoing NAC, the final pathomorphological result and the presence of recurrence. Results. Group I included 48 (64 %) patients who received the AC–T regimen; in group II (n = 27 (36 %)) patients received NAC according to the AC–TCarb regimen. Patients of group II showed a higher frequency of achieving pathological complete response (pCR) compared with patients of group I (73.7 % versus 41.2 %, respectively, p = 0.0433). Taking into account the NAC regimens being carried out, patients of group I had a slightly higher risk of recurrence compared to patients of group II (p = 0.099). Conclusion. In patients with primary BRCA-associated TNBC, the addition of platinum compounds to the systemic NAC resulted in achieving of pCR in 73.7 % cases compared with 41.2 % pCR after the standard anthracycline-taxane NAC, which entails a reduced risk recurrence in this category of patients. Performing a full course of planned NAC has a positive trend in achieving pCR in patients of this category.