Dysregulation of systemic soluble immune checkpoints in early breast cancer is attenuated following administration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and is associated with recovery of CD27, CD28, CD40, CD80, ICOS and GITR and substantially increased levels of PD-L1, LAG-3 and TIM-3.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) may alter the immune landscape of patients with early breast cancer (BC), potentially setting the scene for more effective implementation of checkpoint-targeted immunotherapy. This issue has been investigated in the current study in which alterations in the plasma concentrations of 16 soluble co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory, immune checkpoints were measured sequentially in a cohort of newly diagnosed, early BC patients (n=72), pre-treatment, post-NAC and post-surgery using a Multiplex bead array platform. Relative to a group of healthy control subjects (n=45), the median pre-treatment levels of five co-stimulatory (CD27, CD40, GITRL, ICOS, GITR) and three co-inhibitory (TIM-3, CTLA-4, PD-L1) soluble checkpoints were significantly lower in the BC patients vs.

Colour Coding Navigation: "Triage" Techniques to Improve Compliance in Breast Cancer Patients Requiring Primary Chemotherapy.

Objective: This is a pilot study to assess whether a file-colour-coded triage navigation system for patients on primary chemotherapy improves compliance and adherence and if it decreases defaulting.

Materials And Methods: All breast cancer patients are discussed in a multidisciplinary meeting. All patients are triaged before starting on primary chemotherapy based on their specific challenges and beliefs and are consulted by the navigation team and contacted before the beginning of treatment and after each chemotherapy session by a navigator in the unit.

When and how do I use neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer?

Systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy is utilized along with surgery and radiotherapy for the management of patients with locally advanced breast cancer. The backbone of current chemotherapy regimens include anthracyclines and taxanes given either sequentially or concurrently for up to 8 cycles. Neoadjuvant treatment benefits include in vivo assessment of response to treatment with reduction in the extent of primary and regional metastases.