title: [State of the art of drug therapy in breast cancer].
abstract: Breast cancer should be recognised as a systemic disease even at the stage when metastatic dissemination is not clinically evident. Chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, as systemic treatments require appropriate assessment in the context of multi-disciplinary treatment of breast cancer. Postoperative adjuvant therapy is being standardised based upon several randomized trials. The concept of dose-intensity was addressed through randomized trials. It was confirmed that dose-intensity correlated with higher response rates, but the effect of dose-intensive treatments on survival still needs to be established. High-dose chemotherapy along with autologous bone marrow support is being evaluated for its safety and efficacy. This strategy is also applied for postoperative adjuvant therapy of high-risk patients. Several new chemotherapeutic agents have evaluated clinically during the last years. Taxol, taxotare, navelbine, and anthracycline MX2 have been found to have efficacy against breast cancer. Antiestrogen analogs, new aromatase inhibitors, and LHRH analogs have introduced into clinics recently and they are changing the outfit of endocrine therapy. Appropriate combination of chemotherapy and endocrine therapy induced improved quality of life of metastatic breast cancer patients.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011184:Postoperative Period; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents