Vol. 3, Issue 3, Part E (2019)

Purpose: To evaluate and quantify the response to single cycle neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in stage IIB & IIIA breast cancer.

Methods: A total number of 25 cases of breast carcinoma were selected for the study. All the patients diagnosed as breast carcinoma with stage IIB and IIIA and admitted in surgical wards were selected for this prospective study at R.L. Jalappa. Hospital and Research Centre, Tamaka, Kolar Attached To Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College between December 2013 and June 2015. Clinical tumor size was estimated before the start of chemotherapy (FAC regimen) and after an interval of 10 days by sonomammography.

Results: In our study we found that there is decrease in tumor size in 16% of patients (i.e 4 patients among 25) in those who received single cycle neo adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage IIB and IIIA patients. With 95% confidence interval ranging from 6.40-34.65. This decrease in tumor size has resulted in down staging among three cases (Down staged from stage IIB to stage IIA).

Conclusion: In our study we found that single cycle NAC does not decrease the tumor size in significant number. The decrease in tumor size was noticed in patients who had no nodal involvement and in multiparous women. Single cycle Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is preferred in patients who cannot take up 3 cycles of NAC. These patients can be tried with single cycle NAC which helps to halt the disease in tumor progression.