ROLE OF MAMMOGRAPHY IN RESPONSE ASSESSMENT FOLLOWING NEO-ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY IN LOCALLY ADVANCED BREAST CARCINOMA: EXPERIENCE FROM A TERTIARY CARE CENTER

Objectives: Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has an important role in the treatment of locally advanced breast carcinoma (LABC). In this study, we analyzed the efficacy of mammography in response assessment of NACT in patients with LABC and its correlation with histopathological reports. Methods: Eighty patients with LABC underwent clinical examination and mammography at first. Then, after receiving three cycles of NACT, mammography and clinical examination were done again to evaluate the response to NACT. Patients with at least a partial response underwent radical surgery. Then, we correlate the findings of histopathological reports with that of post-NACT mammography findings. Results: After three cycles of NACT, mammography detected complete response (CR) in 20% (n=28) patients and partial response (PR) in 70% (n=48) patients. Clinical examination overestimated the CR to be 45% and underestimated PR to be 50%. Histopathological examination (HPE) showed complete pathological response in 25 specimens and in rest 51 cases HPE revealed residual tumor. Mammography overestimated the pathological complete response by 4% (three patients). Conclusion: It can be said that mammography can be used as an effective imaging tool for response assessment after NACT, especially in resource-limited setups.