The survival benefit of Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin-Based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in the management of breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This study aims to evaluate the short-term outcomes and prognosis and the cardiac safety of PLD-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) compared to epirubicin-based therapy in breast cancer treatment. Methods 304 patients diagnosed with stages II and III breast cancer were enrolled including 97 cases treated with PLD and 207 controls treated with epirubicin in neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The effectiveness of the anti-breast cancer treatment was evaluated using overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) metrics, while cardiac toxicity was measured through the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and electrocardiogram (ECG) assessments. Results The 5-year DFS and OS rates in the PLD group were 84.5% and 88.7% (with 15 recurrences and 11 deaths), while in the control group, these rates were 72.9% and 79.2% (with 56 recurrences and 43 deaths). Regarding cardiac toxicity, there was no significant difference in ECG abnormalities or left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decline between the two groups. Conclusion The study suggests that PLD-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy may provide substantial benefits in terms of DFS and OS, along with a safe cardiac toxicity profile, in patients with stage II-III breast cancer.