Role of Advanced MRI techniques in early detection of pathological response to neo adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

Abstract

Breast cancer is becoming more and more recognizable cause of cancer related mortality and morbidity among women in Egypt, with increasing incidence of disease occurrence within younger each groups. The use of neo-adjuvant systemic therapy in the treatment of breast cancer patients is increasing beyond the scope of locally advanced disease. It is used in earlier stages of the disease aiming to reducing tumor size before surgery which could potentially convert an inoperable breast cancer to a resectable one or convert from complete mastectomy to partial mastectomy and/or lumpectomy. Another potential benefit of neo-adjuvant therapy is that the extent of axillary surgery could be reduced better, which would decrease the morbidity related t extensive axillary dissection. It also provide a unique opportunity for the evaluation of treatment response with complete pathologic response acting as a surrogate marker of survival and for a more rapid assessment of the efficacy of new therapeutic agents and early cessation of ineffective treatment. In addition, in case of a resistance to therapy, adjusting the dose and/or change to another drug saves patients from the burden of toxicity and side effects. The effectiveness of NAC is an important consideration in the management breast cancer. Early and accurate prediction of