Impact of vitamin D on pathological complete response and survival following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: a retrospective study

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has become a standard of care in locally advanced breast cancer, especially for patients with large tumor size, lymph node metastasis, HER2 overexpression, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype, or inflammatory breast cancer. The aims of NAC are to reduce the size of the tumor to increase the breast conservation rate and to initiate an early systemic therapy especially in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) to treat micrometastatic disease. This therapeutic approach allows an in vivo assessment of the tumor chemotherapy (CT) sensitivity using the pathological response data [1]. Systemic treatment usually consists of sequential chemotherapy regiment with anthracycline and taxanes, with the addition of trastuzumab for patients with HER2 amplified (HER2+) tumors. A relationship between chemotherapy response and survival has been suggested in some trials and confirmed in two large meta-analyses [2, 3]. Indeed, pCR is associated with improved overall survival (OS). This association appears stronger in the HER2+/ HR- disease with a pCR rate of approximately 40% [4]. Response after NAC in those patients is a strong predictor of recurrence and survival. Triple negative breast cancer patients represent a subgroup benefitting from NAC, with pCR rate of 20 to 40% [5‐8]. In this subset of patients, obtaining pCR is a biomarker of improved survival. On the contrary, not attaining pCR is associated with a poor prognosis, [7].

Vitamin D (VD) has gained in interest in recent years due to its impact on cancer.

Indeed, VD seems to play a key role in the cycle cell pathway, especially in breast cancer. Preclinical data have found that VD impacts the regulation of cancer cell proliferation by intervening on the cell cycle via kinases such as cyclines, cyclin-dependant kinases and CDK physiological modulators [9]. In addition VD has an anti-proliferative effect and an anti-oxidative stress, anti-invasion and anti-angiogenesis activities [10]. Vitamin D might also have a synergistic effect on the anti-tumoral activity of some anti-neoplastic agents, such as anthracyclines, and taxanes [11]. This effect appears optimal when VD is administrated before or during chemotherapy [12]. Nevertheless, it has been proven that VD deficiency is extremely frequent in the global population, and even more prevalent in breast cancer patients [13].

In a previous trial, we confirmed those data, and showed that this deficit increases during NAC [14]. In addition, a VD supplementation during NAC appears safe and feasible [15]. Further, in a previous retrospective multicenter study, we demonstrated a statistically significant correlation between VD level at baseline and pCR in patients with LABC receiving NAC [16]. The objective of our present study was to confirm these results in a larger population by evaluating in an expanded cohort the impact of VD level on pCR following breast cancer NAC and to further analyze the association between VD level in this setting and survival.

We performed a retrospective, observational, multicenter study which included 327 breast cancer patients treated by NAC. We evaluated specifically their VD level at the beginning of NAC and its impact on pCR and survival. Notably, we did not have post-NAC serial evaluations of VD levels during the 5-years follow-up.

Breast cancer patients are more frequently affected by a VD deficiency than the general population. Seventy to 80% of these patients have VD level below the lower limit of normal at breast cancer diagnosis, and that proportion even increases during NAC [13, 14, 19]. Our study confirms that patients treated by NAC frequently have deficient VD level. In fact, almost half of our cohort (42%) had baseline VD level below 20 ng/mL. Our population appears less deficient than that reported in other series (74–80% VD deficiency rate) [14, 19], however the deficiency rate is highly dependent of geographic and lifestyle variables [20]. The TNBC subtype appears to be the most affected subgroup. This result is consistent with the report published by Yao et al. [21]. Considering the VD implication in the tumorigenesis process (proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis), it could be hypothesized that this deficiency might have a clinical impact on tumor response to treatment.

Few studies have evaluated the association between VD and pCR. Most of these studies did not show a significant correlation between these two factors. In the NEOZOTAC trial, a large proportion of patients were affected with low VD level at diagnosis, and even lower VD levels at the end of NAC. No correlation was seen between VD level and pCR, nevertheless, patients with sufficient VD level had a better pathological response than the others, even if this result did not achieved statistical significance [22]. Clark et al. studied, in a smaller trial, the relationship between VD and chemotherapy response. Once again, no correlation was found, but one explanation can be linked to the absence of HER2+ patients in this study [23]. Indeed, this subgroup of patients are the one responding the most frequently to chemotherapy, with the higher pCR rate, especially since the addition of trastuzumab and other HER2-directed therapies [2]. The lack of HER2+ patients in the study by Clark et al, limits interpretation of these results.

Our study confirms the significant correlation between VD level and pCR. Lower VD level significantly decreases the probability of attaining pCR. These data are consistent with our previous study [16], and validated in this expanded cohort. This results may be explained by the potential effect of VD on chemotherapeutic agents such as taxanes and anthracyclines, both of which form the backbone of breast cancer treatment [11, 24].

Tumor subtypes, histological grade and clinical stage, as expected were also associated with pCR and were found to be independent predictive factors of pCR in our population [25].

In our study, pCR was achieved in 32.4% of patients, which is higher than in the meta-analyses previously reported [2, 3, 26] (16–22% pCR rates). However, this difference may be considered altogether with the respective proportions of the biological subgroups. Additionally, our cohort is more recent than the Cortazar study, and likely benefit from improved systemic therapies, such as anti-HER2 targeted therapies and the more wide-spread use of taxanes. Consistent with previously reported literature, pCR was attained more frequently in the HER2+/HR- (60%) subtype (40% for the HR+/HER2+ one), followed by the TNBC subtype (33%) and finally the HR+/HER2- (21%) subtype.

In our cohort we observed a good prognosis, with a median PFS and OS not reached after a median 5.3 years of follow up. In the meta-analysis by Cortazar et al., pCR was suggested as a surrogate endpoint due to its correlation with survival, achieving pCR being associated with an improved survival, and a decrease risk of recurrence [2, 3]. In our study, pCR and survival are strongly associated, confirming its role as a prognostic factor, but with variable magnitude depending on tumor subtypes at this early follow-up time-point.

In the population not achieving pCR, the HR+/HER2- subgroup experienced the best prognosis, followed by HER2+ then TNBC patients. Nevertheless, for patients achieving pCR, no statistical difference was seen in the different subgroups. Pathological complete response appears as a strong prognostic factor in the TNBC subgroup. The initial general poor prognosis of this subtype is altered for patients achieving pCR (5 years-OS 93% versus 47%), as it has been initially reported by Liedtke et al. [7].

Other studies found more frequent deficiency of VD in this subgroup [21, 27]. In our study, no correlation was found between VD level and survival in this subgroup, however it appears to be a trend for a better survival in the VD sufficient group (5-year-OS of 60% in the VD deficient group versus 70% in the normal VD level one, p = 0.2, Fig. 3c; (5-year-PFS of 60.4% versus 72.3% in the low and normal VD level group respectively, p = 0.3, Fig. 4). Similar trend was seen in the study by Al-Azhri et al. [10]. This lack of statistical significance could be explained by the relatively small number of patients in our TNBC cohort. In the same article, Al-Azhri et al demonstrated that TNBC was mostly associated with a low level of VD receptor (VDR), due to a down regulation mechanism. VDR functionality is necessary for VD mediated anti-cancer activity. Indeed, in vitro, the reintroduction of VDR restored the anti-proliferative action of VD [10]. Thus, it is possible that appropriate VD levels are of greater impact in VDR functional tumors.

In addition, our analysis showed a near-significant correlation between VD level and PFS in the HR+/HER2- subgroup. It is likely that with further follow-up this finding will achieve significance at the 5% level. Some meta-analyses previously confirmed a positive association between sufficient VD level and better survival, nevertheless, no specific data was specifically available for the HR+/HER2- subgroup [28‐30]. One way to explain this link could be based on the discovery of new pathways associated with VD, modulating the activity of HR+ breast cancer cells. Indeed, Krishnan et al, showed on in vitro and in vivo models that VD might decrease the expression of aromatase, and so decrease the synthesis of estrogen [31]. Thus the inhibition of estrogen synthesis and signaling by calcitriol, and its anti-inflammatory actions may play an important role in inhibiting HR+ breast cancer.

In our retrospective observational study, VD level appears correlated with pCR in breast cancer patients treated with NAC. Pathological complete response is a validated, strong and independent prognostic factor of survival, especially in the TNBC population. No significant correlation was yet seen between VD level and overall survival. Nevertheless, a trend was seen in PFS in the HR+/HER- subgroup and in OS in the TNBC subgroup. Considering the natural history of the different breast cancer subgroups, the actualization of survival with a longer follow-up will allow the evaluation of the presence of similar correlations in the other breast cancer subtypes. Further studies are warranted in a larger cohort population in order to evaluate the link between VD level and survival. An interventional prospective study in this population to analyze the impact of VD supplementation on pCR and survival, eventually stratified by tumoral VDR expression would be warranted. Notably, this intervention is highly actionable and relatively inexpensive which could offer an opportunity for an easily applicable and value-based improvement in breast cancer outcomes.