title: Dihydroxyanthracenedione: a promising new drug in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
abstract: Thirty-one patients who had metastatic breast cancer extensively pretreated with combination chemotherapy, including doxorubicin, were tested with dihydroxyanthracenedione, 3 to 4 mg/m2 body surface area daily for 5 consecutive days every 4 weeks. Of 27 evaluable patients, one achieved a complete response and five had partial responses. Furthermore, responses were seen in patients who were refractory to doxorubicin, indicating a lack of cross-resistance between doxorubicin and dihydroxyanthracenedione. Acute drug toxicity was insignificant except for severe granulocytopenia at the dose level of 4 mg/m2 . d. The median duration of remission had not been reached, but was more than 26 weeks, with four of the six responding patients still in remission at last follow-up. We believe that dihydroxyanthracenedione has significant activity against refractory metastatic breast cancer and further evaluation is warranted.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000380:Agranulocytosis / Q000139:chemically induced; D000873:Anthracenes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008942:Mitoxantrone; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis
chemical_list: D000873:Anthracenes; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004317:Doxorubicin; D008942:Mitoxantrone