High rates of breast conservation for large ductal and lobular invasive carcinomas combining multimodality strategies

M A Bollet, A Savignoni, J-Y Pierga, M Lae, V Fourchotte, Y M Kirova, R Dendale, F Campana, B Sigal-Zafrani, R Salmon, A Fourquet & A Vincent-Salomon
British Journal of Cancer (2008) 98, 734-741

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The literature reports low rates of breast conservation after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for operable breast cancers not amenable to initial breast-conserving surgery.

Clinical response to primary chemotherapy was significantly worse for lobular than for ductal carcinomas (47 vs 60%; P=0.04), but only histological grade remained predictive in multivariate analysis. Breast conservation was high for both ductal and lobular carcinomas (65 and 54%; P=0.07), due, in part, to the use of radiotherapy, either exclusive or preoperative, for respectively 26 and 40% of patients. The lobular type had no adverse effect, neither on locoregional control nor on overall survival, even in the group of patients treated with breast conservation.