title: Can pathologic complete response (pCR) be used as a surrogate marker of survival after neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer?
abstract: Breast cancer is heterogeneous in clinical, morphological, immunohistochemical and biological features, as reflected by several different prognostic subgroups. Neoadjuvant approaches are currently used for the "in vivo" efficacy assessment of treatments. Pathological complete response (pCR) has been reported as a reliable predictive factor of survival in that setting. However, pCR remains a subject of controversy in terms of definition and its evaluation methods. In addition, its predictive value for patient outcome in various breast cancer biological subtypes has been under debate. In this review, we will present the existing definitions of pCR, the impact of its evaluation methods on its rate and the assessment of its predictive value for patient outcome in the molecular subtypes of breast cancer (luminal A and B, Triple Negative and HER2-positive).
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Inserm UMR 990, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang-Lopez
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; ERTICA EA 4677, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France; CIC 501, UMR 766, 63003 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Nassera
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chalabi
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; ERTICA EA 4677, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France; CIC 501, UMR 766, 63003 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abrial
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; ERTICA EA 4677, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Radosevic-Robin
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; CIC 501, UMR 766, 63003 Clermont-Ferrand, France; CREAT EA 7283, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Durando
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; ERTICA EA 4677, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Ange
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mouret-Reynier
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Kheir-Eddine
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Benmammar
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Sharif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kullab
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Mohun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahadoor
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Inserm UMR 990, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chollet
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; ERTICA EA 4677, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France. Electronic address: Frederique.PENAULT-LLORCA@cjp.fr.
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Penault-Llorca
authors.affiliation: Jean Perrin Comprehensive Cancer Centre, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand, France; ERTICA EA 4677, University of Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Nabholtz
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: Breast cancer sugroups; Neoadjuvant chemotherapy; Pathologic complete response; Surrogate marker