Neoadjuvant tamoxifen for hormone-sensitive non-metastatic breast carcinomas in early postmenopausal women

Abstract

Background: From 1984 to 1996, 1581 postmenopausal women aged 50-70 years old were treated at Institut Bergonié for an infiltrative non-metastatic breast carcinoma with a positive estrogen and/or progesterone receptor determination. Patients and methods: Among them, 199 were treated with first line tamoxifen. Ninety-seven had operable disease (T2 > 30 mm, T3, N0/1) and 102 had T4 tumours. Results: After a mean treatment duration of 5.3 months, 89 T2 and T3 (92%) and 93 T4 (91%) were treated by surgery (conservative or not) with or without irradiation, or by irradiation alone. Conserving treatment levels were 53.6% and 44%, respectively. The other women were treated with either second line chemotherapy or another hormonotherapy; the remaining patients continued regularly with tamoxifen. Overall survival is analysed with a 83 month median follow-up. Conclusions: A comparison between neoadjuvant endocrine therapy and surgery seems feasible to assess the concept of neoadjuvant hormonotherapy. © 2002 European Society for Medical Oncology.