Study of Concurrent Paclitaxel and Radiation: Correlation of Tumor Profiles With Pathologic Response

The term -locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) commonly includes tumors whose maximum diameter is 5 cm (T3) or larger, or which present with involvement of the chest wall or skin. Surprisingly, the simultaneous presence of clinically detectable distant metastases is relatively infrequent (~8%), a peculiar finding since in 73% of these large tumors it is possible to document shedding of tumor cells into the blood.

While LABC has become a rare clinical presentation of breast cancer in the general population as a result of improved early detection by mammographic screening, it remains relatively common among minority women of low socioeconomic status. For instance, in a consecutive series of 363 African-American women presenting in a large urban hospital, one out of three women newly diagnosed with breast cancer had LABC.

It is well documented that although the incidence of breast cancer among African-Americans is lower than among white women, breast cancer mortality in African-Americans is significantly higher. In 1998, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an overall downward trend in cancer incidence and mortality between 1990 and 1995 for all cancers combined. Many minority and medically underserved populations, however, did not share equally in these improvements. These patients have continued to encounter multifactorial barriers to early detection and care, warranting interventions to improve access.

At the same time, it is equally important to offer the best chance for survival to those underserved women who have already availed themselves of medical care. Paradoxically, while the medical community is aware of the inadequate accrual of minority patients to clinical trials, only few trials exist for LABC.