The recent progress of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple negative breast cancer: A short review

Abstract

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) encompasses tumors that do not express either the estrogen receptor (ER) or the progesterone receptor (PR) and also do not overexpress the Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2). This is a heterogenous group of tumors that significantly overlaps with both basal-like tumors and BRCA1/BRCA2 mutationassociated tumors. TNBC is highly aggressive in nature and exhibits worse prognosis than the other subtypes of breast cancer, despite its increased chemosensitivity. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is a treatment option regularly incorporated in clinical practice to improve subsequent surgical management. In parallel, allows rating of the pathological compete response (pCR) which is associated with the prognosis of these patients and evaluates the efficacy of the applied treatment as well. Platinum-based regimens and novel targeted therapies have shown some benefit in TNBC, though an unmet need for improved therapeutic strategies in this patient population still remains. In this review, the latest progresses in NACT in TNBC are discussed, along with the improved understanding of molecular targets and useful biomarkers in this group of patients.