Conservative surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with operable breast cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is being used with increasing frequency in the multidisciplinary treatment of patients with operable breast cancer. Although large clinical trials have shown no differences between the same systemic therapy given pre- or post-surgery on diseasefree and overall survival, neoadjuvant therapy may have several advantages. By downstaging of the tumor, chemotherapy can convert patients who are candidates for mastectomy to breast-conserving surgery candidates.