Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC)
has been administered since the 1990s and is now
one of the major treatments for breast cancer. It
can achieve extremely positive results in some
patients. Whether NAC affects immediate breast
reconstruction (IBR) using an expander, however,
remains unclear.
Methods: A retrospective study was performed
at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)
hospital. Seventy-five cases of immediate breast
reconstruction using an expander were performed
in 69 patients between January 2001 and January
2007. The patients were evaluated for tumor size,
histological type, sites of invasion, staging, lymph
node metastasis, NAC regimen, response to NAC,
type of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR),
complications, and prognosis.
Results: In patients treated with an expander,
there was no significant difference in the
complication rate between those who underwent
NAC and those who did not.
Conclusions: NAC did not increase the complication
rate after IBR using an expander. However, for
reconstruction using autologous tissue, more data
are needed.
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