Pathological complete response and survival of HER2-positive invasive breast cancer following docetaxel, carboplatin, and trastuzumab neoadjuvant therapy: a Vietnamese experience

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Introduction. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for HER2-positive breast cancer consists of a chemotherapy regimen plus trastuzumab with or without pertuzumab. The use of trastuzumab has been shown to improve pathological complete response (pCR), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Purposes: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant docetaxel, carboplatin, and trastuzumab (TCH) in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer in Vietnamese patients. Material and methods. This retrospective study reviewed stage II–III HER2-positive breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant docetaxel, carboplatin, and trastuzumab (TCH) at the Vietnamese National Cancer Hospital. The primary endpoint was the pCR rate which was defined as the absence of invasive tumor in the breast and axillary nodes (ypT0/is, ypN0). The secondary endpoints were DFS, OS, and toxicities. Results. The complete and partial clinical response of 51 patients were 33.3% and 58.8%, respectively. The pCR rate was 41.2%; there was a significantly higher response in cT1-2 patients compared to cT3-4 ones (61.1% vs. 39.3%, p = 0.033). Three-year estimated DFS and OS rates were 81.3% and 93.0%, respectively. Treatment was generally well tolerated. Grade 3/4 neutropenia and anemia were uncommon (21.6% and 7.8%). No symptomatic cardiac dysfunction occurred. Conclusions. Neoadjuvant TCH, non-anthracycline chemotherapy with single anti-HER2 regimen achieved high efficacy, with a good pCR rate and favorable tolerability in stage II or III HER2-positive breast cancer patients.