Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer achieved response rates similar to those obtained with combination chemotherapy but with less toxicity, pooled data from 20 studies showed.
The findings have implications for a majority of women with newly diagnosed early breast cancer, most of which is ER-positive disease. Clinical experience in the adjuvant setting has shown that 50% to 75% of women with ER-positive breast cancer do not benefit from combination chemotherapy, said Virginia Kaklamani, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.