Abstract:

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between pre-treatment nutritional status and pathological complete response (pCR) rates in patients with breast cancer. Methods: The study group consisted of 109 female patients. Clinicopathologic factors, pathological response status, and pre-treatment laboratory values of the patients were recorded retrospectively. CONUT score, consisting of total cholesterol, serum albumin, and total lymphocyte, was calculated to assess the nutritional status. Factors affecting pCR were evaluated, and the relationship between pCR and CONUT was analyzed. Results: The mean age was 49.78±10.92. Thirty-two (29.4%) patients had pCR. The rate of pCR in the hormone-negative group was significantly higher than that in the hormone-positive group (p<0.001). Additionally, the pCR rate in the HER2+ group was significantly higher than that in the HER2- group (p<0.001). Patients with pCR had a significantly higher Ki67 index (p<0.001). There was no significant difference when the pCR rates of patients with high and low CONUT scores were compared. Conclusion: This is the first study evaluating the association between pre-treatment CONUT score and pCR in breast cancer patients. There is a need for comprehensive studies to reveal the relationship more clearly.

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