Factors influencing the time to surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

Purpose It is suspected that delayed surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) leads to a worse outcome in breast cancer patients. We therefore evaluated possible influencing factors of the time interval between the end of NACT and surgery. Methods All patients receiving NACT due to newly diagnosed breast cancer from 2015 to 2017 at the Department of Gynecology, Saarland University Medical Center, were included. The time interval between end of NACT and surgery was defined as primary endpoint. Possible delaying factors were investigated: age, study participation, outpatient and inpatient presentations, implants/expander, MRI preoperatively, discontinuation of chemotherapy, and genetic mutations. Results Data of 139 patients was analyzed. Median age was 53 years (22–78). The time interval between end of NACT and surgery was 28 days (9–57). Additional clinical presentations on outpatient basis added 2 days ( p = 0.002) and on inpatient basis added 7 days to time to surgery ( p