SURVIVAL OF PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC BREAST-CANCER TREATED WITH EITHER COMBINATION OR SEQUENTIAL CHEMOTHERAPY

Abstract

Patients (121) with metastatic breast adenocarcinoma were randomized to concurrent combination therapy or single-drug chemotherapy administered sequentially [cyclophosphamide, 5-fluorouracil, methotrexate, prednisone and triiodothyronine]. Although response frequency and duration of response were significantly increased in patients receiving the combination regimen, survival was not significantly prolonged when compared to those receiving sequential treatment. For the 69 patients free of liver metastasis, median survival was comparable in both treatment arms (14.4 mo. sequential vs. 12.8 mo. combination). A large subset of patients with metastatic breast cancer may benefit from less aggressive therapeutic regimens. Furthermore, these results illustrate that conclusions of chemotherapy trials in breast cancer based only on response frequency and duration of response represent preliminary results subject to change when final survival information becomes available.