title: Weekly low-dose mitoxantrone plus doxorubicin as second-line chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer.
abstract: Weekly low dose mitoxantrone (3 mg/m2) plus doxorubicin (8 mg/m2) was administered as second-line chemotherapy to 33 patients with advanced breast cancer. Four out of 28 evaluable patients (14%) obtained a partial response with a median duration of 34 weeks (range 18-67+ weeks), while 8 patients (29%) showed stable disease with a median duration of 28 weeks (range 11+-60 weeks). Gastrointestinal toxicity and alopecia were mild. Grade II and III leukopenia occurred in 63% of the courses without serious infectious disease. Four patients experienced an asymptomatic drop of 16-20% in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after relatively low cumulative doses of each drug, and one patient with a history of pericarditis carcinomatosa and mediastinal irradiation developed a heart failure. In conclusion, this second-line combination treatment had moderate activity in breast cancer and caused only few subjective side effects, especially with respect to gastrointestinal symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Rotterdam Cancer Institute (Dr Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center), The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bontenbal
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Planting
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Rodenburg
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dees
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verweij
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alexieva-Figusch
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: van Putten
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Klijn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008942:Mitoxantrone / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D004317:Doxorubicin; D008942:Mitoxantrone