Treatment-driven dynamic modulation of theranostic targets after neoadjuvant therapy in resistant triple negative and HER2-positive breast cancer

Abstract

Over the past decades, the prognosis of early-stage breast cancer has improved significantly due to the introduction of increasingly effective systemic therapies; however, a subset of patients continues to face a high risk of recurrence, particularly in the presence of residual disease after neoadjuvant treatment. Post-neoadjuvant studies have shown that targeted treatment of resistant disease with non–cross-resistant agents can significantly improve clinical outcomes. Despite this, patient selection for these treatments remains largely empirical, relying almost exclusively on the presence of residual tumor rather than on the biological characteristics of the residual disease. This project aims to address this gap by performing an in-depth analysis of the tumor transcriptional profile before and after neoadjuvant therapy using paired tumor samples. The goal is to understand how the molecular landscape of breast cancer changes in response to treatment and to identify biological programs associated with resistance, prognosis, and clinical outcomes