Neoadjuvant tamoxifen for hormone-sensitive non-metastatic breast carcinomas in early postmenopausal women.
BACKGROUND
From 1984 to 1996, 1581 postmenopausal women aged 50-70 years old were treated at Institut Bergonié for an infiltrative non-metastatic breast carcinoma with a positive estrogen and/or progesterone receptor determination.


METHODS
Among them, 199 were treated with first line tamoxifen. Ninety-seven had operable disease (T2 >30 mm, T3, N0/1) and 102 had T4 tumours.


RESULTS
After a mean treatment duration of 5.3 months, 89 T2 and T3 (92%) and 93 T4 (91%) were treated by surgery (conservative or not) with or without irradiation, or by irradiation alone. Conserving treatment levels were 53.6% and 44%, respectively. The other women were treated with either second-line chemotherapy or another hormonotherapy; the remaining patients continued regularly with tamoxifen. Overall survival is analysed with a 83 month median follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
A comparison between neoadjuvant endocrine therapy and surgery seems feasible to assess the concept of neoadjuvant hormonotherapy.
Mauriac
L
L
Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Bergonié, Regional Cancer Center, Bordeaux, France. mauriac@bergonie.org
Debled
M
M
Durand
M
M
Floquet
A
A
Boulanger
V
V
Dagada
C
C
Trufflandier
N
N
MacGrogan
G
G
D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D013629:Tamoxifen