Predicting the response of neoadjuvant chemotherapy by ER and/or PR status in patients with locally advanced breast cancer

Objective To investigate whether the expressions of ER and/or PR could predict the sensitivity of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancers.Methods All 144 patients with breast cancers received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.The ER and PR expressions of tumors were determined preoperatively by immuno-histochemistry.The relationship of ER/PR status with response rate to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was then evaluated.Results Response rates of ER(-)and ER(+)tumors to neoadjuvant chemotherapy were 83.91% and 57.89%;PR(-)and PR(+)were 80.85% and 60.00% respectively.The significant differences were observed between ER(-)vs ER(+)(χ2=12.00,P0.05)and PR(-)vs PR(+)(χ2=7.30,P0.05).The response rate in tumors with ER and PR absent tumors was significantly higher than that in ER and/or PR positive(χ2=9.53,P0.05).Conclusion ER and/or PR negative breast cancers were more sensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy,which indicated ER and PR might be predictive markers of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.