TY - JOUR
T1 - Efficacy, toxicity, and applicability of high-dose sequential chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment in operable breast cancer with 10 or more involved axillary nodes
T2 - Five-year results
AU - Gianni, A. M.
AU - Siena, S.
AU - Bregni, M.
AU - Di Nicola, M.
AU - Orefice, S.
AU - Cusumano, F.
AU - Salvadori, B.
AU - Luini, A.
AU - Greco, M.
AU - Zucali, R.
AU - Rilke, F.
AU - Zambetti, M.
AU - Valagussa, P.
AU - Bonadonna, G.
PY - 1997/6
Y1 - 1997/6
N2 - Purpose: To assess the efficacy, toxicity, and applicability of high- dose therapy administered as adjuvant initial treatment to women with breast cancer with extensive nodal involvement. Patients and Methods: Sixty-seven patients with stage II to III breast cancer involving ≤ 10 axillary nodes received a novel high-dose sequential (HDS) regimen, including the high-dose administration of three non-cross-resistant drugs (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and melphalan) given within the shortest interval of time as possible with hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity. Results: Sixty-three patients completed the program as planned, one patient died of acute toxicity, and three patients were switched to standard-dose adjuvant therapy. After a median follow-up duration of 48.5 months and a lead follow-up of 78 months, actuarial relapse-free survival for all 67 registered patients is 57% and overall survival is 70%, respectively. Comparison with a historical control group of 58 consecutive patients showed a significantly superior rate of freedom from relapse for the HDS-treated group (57% v 41%, respectively), in particular when two subgroups of patients, more homogeneous for their number of involved nodes, were compared (65% v 42%). Overall, treatment was of short duration (median, 70 days), required a median of 32 days of hospital stay, and was associated with only a few severe side effects (the most distressing being oral mucositis after melphalan therapy). Conclusion: HDS therapy emerges as on effective and applicable regimen, whose major toxicity was occasional. Final assessment of its value in a randomized, multicenter trial is presently underway.
AB - Purpose: To assess the efficacy, toxicity, and applicability of high- dose therapy administered as adjuvant initial treatment to women with breast cancer with extensive nodal involvement. Patients and Methods: Sixty-seven patients with stage II to III breast cancer involving ≤ 10 axillary nodes received a novel high-dose sequential (HDS) regimen, including the high-dose administration of three non-cross-resistant drugs (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and melphalan) given within the shortest interval of time as possible with hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity. Results: Sixty-three patients completed the program as planned, one patient died of acute toxicity, and three patients were switched to standard-dose adjuvant therapy. After a median follow-up duration of 48.5 months and a lead follow-up of 78 months, actuarial relapse-free survival for all 67 registered patients is 57% and overall survival is 70%, respectively. Comparison with a historical control group of 58 consecutive patients showed a significantly superior rate of freedom from relapse for the HDS-treated group (57% v 41%, respectively), in particular when two subgroups of patients, more homogeneous for their number of involved nodes, were compared (65% v 42%). Overall, treatment was of short duration (median, 70 days), required a median of 32 days of hospital stay, and was associated with only a few severe side effects (the most distressing being oral mucositis after melphalan therapy). Conclusion: HDS therapy emerges as on effective and applicable regimen, whose major toxicity was occasional. Final assessment of its value in a randomized, multicenter trial is presently underway.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 9196145
AN - SCOPUS:0031004064
VL - 15
SP - 2312
EP - 2321
JO - Journal of Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Clinical Oncology
SN - 0732-183X
IS - 6
ER -