Two cases of breast cancer markedly responded to neoadjuvant chemoendocrine therapy (2 cycles of CMF and tamoxifen, pCR and near pCR)

Case 1 is a 38-year-old woman with a 6 cm tumor in her right breast. After incisional biopsy she received 2 cycles of CMF and tamoxifen in order to effect down staging. The tumor markedly decreased in size. She next underwent breast conserving surgery. Histopathologically, malignant cells completely disappeared (pCR). Case 2 is a 34-year-old woman with a 5.5 cm tumor in her left breast. After incisional biopsy she received the same regimen as in case 1. The tumor diminished significantly in size, and she underwent breast conserving surgery. Histopathologically, only a few fragments of degenerated tumor cells remained. Case 1 was hormone receptor positive, while case 2 was negative. The remarkable responsiveness (pCR and near pCR) to 2 cycles of CMF combined with tamoxifen was interesting. From these results we conclude that the CMF regimen is an useful neoadjuvant chemotherapy alternative to avoid alopecia and GI tract side effects.