title: Primary systemic treatment with weekly doxorubicin monotherapy in women with locally advanced breast cancer; clinical experience and parameters predicting outcome.
abstract: Sixty-three patients (median age 64 years) with locally advanced breast cancer (T3, T4 and/or N2) were treated with primary 'neoadjuvant' chemotherapy given as weekly doxorubicin monotherapy (14 mg/m2 per dose). Seven patients had solitary distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Twenty-eight patients (45%) achieved 'partial response' to primary chemotherapy. Twenty-nine patients (46%) had 'stable disease', and 6 patients (9%) had 'progressive disease' during treatment. Following chemotherapy, 52 patients were subjected to surgery and another 4 patients had surgery performed after radiotherapy. Surgery was considered impossible in only three patients. After a median observation time of 23 months, local recurrences were observed in 2 patients, one with progressive disease and one with stable disease during chemotherapy. Univariate analyses revealed that large tumour size, high histological grade and high mitotic frequency were associated with poor primary response to chemotherapy. Recent studies have demonstrated a correlation between p53-mutations and chemotherapy response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aas
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geisler
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Børresen-Dale
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Varhaug
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Lønning
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Akslen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000903:Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; D004317:Doxorubicin