Objective: To evaluate preoperative ulnaris arterial intubation chemotherapy as a step of multidisciplinary treatment of stage III breast cancer.
Methods: 109 patients with stage III breast cancer were studied. 64 patients (group A) were treated by preoperative ulnaris arterial intubation chemotherapy and others (group B) were not. The 5 and 10-year survival rates and disease-free survival rates were analyzed.
Results: In patients with stage III breast cancer, the overall response rate of group A was 76.6%, and the response rate to histological study was 89.1%. The 5-year and 10-year survival rates of group A were 64.0% and 47.9% respectively. The disease-free survival rate of group A was 59.4% at 5 years and 43.3% at 10 years. All were higher than the 5-year and 10-year survival rates (31.1%, 21.9%) and the 5-year and 10-year disease-free survival rates (22.2%, 12.5%) of group B (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Preoperative ulnaris arterial intubation chemotherapy is an effective measure for the treatment of stage III breast cancer. It can improve the long-term effects on stage III breast cancer and reduce local relapse and distant metastasis.