A meta-analysis of platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer

Aim: Platinum agents are DNA damaging agents with promising activity in breast cancers, especially in triple-negative subgroup. This meta-analysis was conducted to compare the treatments of platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and standard NAC for triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). Materials & methods: Diverse electronic databases were searched to identify the randomized clinical trials that directly compared the treatments of platinum-based NAC versus NAC in TNBC patients. Toxicity of platinum-based regimens was further evaluated. Results: Addition of platinum agents significantly improved the pathological complete response rates in TNBC patients compared with the standard NAC. Unfortunately, platinum-based regimens were more likely to develop higher incidence of hematologic toxicities. Conclusion: Platinum-based NAC regimens could achieve significant pathological complete response improvement with well-tolerated toxicity in TNBC patients.