title: Adjuvant chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide or CMF in premenopausal women with stage II breast cancer.
abstract: After total mastectomy and partial axillary dissection, 805 premenopausal women with stage II breast cancer were randomized to receive postoperative radiotherapy (RT) alone, RT + cyclophosphamide (C) for 12 monthly cycles, or RT + cyclophosphamide/methotrexate/5-fluorouracil (CMF) for 12 monthly cycles. At 3 years actuarial relapse-free survival for RT + C and RT + CMF was significantly better than for RT alone (p = 0.0009 and 0.0001, respectively). There was no significant difference in relapse-free survival between RT + C and RT + CMF. C resulted in more pronounced haematologic toxicity and a higher frequency of amenorrhoea and of alopecia than CMF, while CMF resulted in more pronounced nausea and stomatitis than C. In the preliminary results, C alone may be as effective as CMF in prolonging relapse-free survival in premenopausal women with stage II breast cancer.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008408:Mastectomy; D008593:Menopause; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D005472:Fluorouracil; D008727:Methotrexate