TITLE:
Evaluation of Clinical and Radiological Tumour Response during Neo-Adjuvant Breast Cancer Chemotherapy at Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital
AUTHORS:
Bambara Augustin Tozoula, Ouedraogo Nina-Astrid, Atenguena Okobalemba Etienne, Kabore Bernard, Akanni Fayçal, Sama Alice Cynthia, Ousseini Diallo
KEYWORDS:
Tumour Response, Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy, Breast Imaging, Burkina Faso
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Breast Cancer Research,
Vol.11 No.4,
September
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is one of the treatment options for
breast cancer. Its aim is to significantly reduce the size of the tumour in
preparation for surgery. The aim of this work is to analyze the conditions of
clinical and radiological evaluation of NAC at the Yalgado Ouédraogo University
Hospital (CHUYO). Patients and Methods: This was a
descriptive cross-sectional study based on the medical records of patients
followed up in the cancer department of the CHUYO from 1 January 2013 to 31
December 2021. All patients followed for histologically proven, non-metastatic
breast cancer and having received at least one course of NAC were included in
this study. The variables were related to the socio-demographic characteristics of the patients, the indications, the
protocols of NAC and the sequences of evaluation of the tumour response
(clinical, radiological and anatomopathological). Results: We collected
105 cases. The average age of the patients concerned was 44 years. The most
frequent histological type was non-specific invasive
carcinoma in 97.1% of cases. Immunohistochemically, triple-negative
patients accounted for 51.4%. At the initial stage, all patients underwent clinical exploration. Clinical measurement of the
tumour was performed in 70.5% of cases. The radiological size of the
tumour was determined by ultrasound in 59.1% of cases. One patient had a breast
MRI. Thirty-one patients were lost to follow-up after the initial evaluation.
At mid-term and at the end of treatment, clinical tumour size was performed in
38.6% and 45.6% of cases respectively. There
was no breast imaging performed at mid- and end-of-treatment. CT scans
were performed in all cases at baseline, mid-term and end of treatment for
extension assessment but did not mention the breast tumour. The tumour response
rate was not recorded. Conclusion: Clinical assessment of tumour
response is almost always empirical and not quantified. Medical imaging
examinations are prescribed sparingly so as not to compromise the regularity of
treatment and patient assessment.