title: L-Phenylalanine mustard (L-PAM) in the management of primary breast cancer. A report of early findings.
abstract: Prolonged l-phenylalanine mustard (L-PAM) administration as an adjuvant to mastectomy in the management of patients with primary breast cancer and pathologically positive axillary nodes was evaluated by a prospective, randomized, clinical trial. Treatment failures occurred in 22 per cent of 108 patients receiving placebo and 9.7 per cent of 103 women given L-PAM (p = 0.01). A statistically significant difference (p = 0.02) existed in favor of L-PAM relative to disease-free interval. In premenopausal women, the difference with respect to disease-free interval of treated and control groups was highly significant (p = 0.008). A treatment failure occurred in 30 per cent of premenopausal patients receiving placebo and 3 per cent of those treated with L-PAM (p = 0.008). Whereas a similar trend was observed in postmenopausal patients, the difference is not statistically significant. Thus, L-PAM has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of women with primary breast cancer, particularly those who are premenopausal. Results were achieved with minimal undesirable side effects.
mesh_terms: D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008558:Melphalan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D008558:Melphalan