Pathomorphological assessment of tissue material after pre-operative systemic therapy (neoadjuvant therapy) in patients with breast cancer

Abstract

Oncological management of patients with breast cancer, with the use of pre-operative systemic therapy in the last decade presented significant increase of effectiveness. The greater the number of cases with complete or major pathomorphological response means that getting the right material for postoperative histopathological assessment is becoming more and more difficult. In addition, the demonstrated correlation between complete pathomorphological response (pCR) and long-term treatment effects (in HER2-positive and triple-negative subtypes of breast carcinoma) makes the standardisation of postoperative pathomorphological examination, both at the gross and microscopic level, a necessity. This article presents the recommended rules for the preparation of such material and the method of its reporting, corresponding to the needs of contemporary oncology.