Endocrine and cytotoxic therapies for the management of advanced local breast cancer. Current clinical investigation.
There is a need for more clinical investigation in advanced local breast cancer. Both chemotherapy and endocrine therapy improve disease-free and overall survival and are now a routine part of standard patient care. Dose-intensive chemotherapy should be reserved for younger patients in large, controlled clinical trials. For operable patients, adequate surgical therapy of the breast and axilla remains a standard of care and provides the most important piece of prognostic information (i.e., the number of involved axillary lymph nodes). Tamoxifen treatment of the estrogen receptor-positive postmenopausal patient remains the standard, although chemotherapy may add a further increment to disease-free survival.
Joint Center for Radiation Therapy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
L M
LM
Parker
B A
BA
Bornstein
D000367:Age Factors; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy; D018579:Patient Selection
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal