LAUSR

e12655Background: NIRST provides biophysical data including oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin, water, lipid, and scatter components, useful in distinguishing cancer from normal breast tissue. Unlike anatomic changes characterized by conventional radiographic techniques, these functional changes are uniquely suited to monitor early response to NAC. The Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) is a reproducible pathologic analysis to evaluate residual disease after treatment with NAC and proven useful prognostically. Methods: 19 women with locally advanced breast cancer were enrolled in this NIRST pilot study to evaluate tumor response to NAC. Patients underwent NIRST prior to NAC (HbT-pre), after cycle 1, after cycle 2, at the mid-point of NAC, and at the conclusion of NAC. RCB scores were determined in 16 of the 19 final tissue specimens. RCB scores for two patients were excluded due to positive excisional lymph node biopsy prior to NAC. One patient underwent surgery at an outside hospital and was excluded as pathology slide...