Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with taxotere-epirubicin-5-fluorouracil (TEF) in local-regionally advanced breast cancer: a preliminary report.
OBJECTIVE
Sixty-three patients with local-regionally advanced breast cancer were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisting of docetaxel (Taxotere), epirubicin, and 5-fluorouracil (TEF).


METHODS
Preoperatively, patients received four cycles of Taxotere (80 mg/m2), epirubicin (60 mg/m2), and 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m2), repeated every 21 days. Following completion of four cycles of chemotherapy, appropriate surgery was performed. After the surgery, patients received one cycle of the TEF chemotherapy regimen; following chemotherapy, radiotherapy was applied, and at the end two more cycles of TEF chemotherapy regimen were given.


RESULTS
Sixty-three patients with locally advanced breast cancer were treated. Three patients were excluded from the study before the evaluation of response. Median age of the patients was 50 years (range, 25-77). Twenty-seven and 33 patients were premenopausal and postmenopausal, respectively. Thirty-nine patients were in stage IIIA and 21 in stage IIIB. Complete and partial responses were observed in 15 (25%) and 42 (70%) of the patients following four cycles of preoperative TEF chemotherapy regimen, respectively. Overall response was 95%, and primary lesion progressed only in 3 (5%) patients. The mean disease-free survival was 15.9 +/- 6.8 (range, 3.5-28) months and the mean overall survival was 18.6 +/- 7.2 (range, 5-30) months. The most frequent side effects were nausea-vomiting, mucositis, alopecia and leukopenia.


CONCLUSIONS
TEF therapy is a treatment with a high overall response rate and toxicities similar to other taxotere combinations. A longer follow-up of patients is necessary for the determination of disease-free survival and overall survival.
Baltali
Eşmen
E
Hacettepe University, Institute of Oncology, Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara, Turkey.
Altundağ
M Kadri
MK
Onat
Demir Ali
DA
Abbasoğlu
Osman
O
Ozişik
Yavuz
Y
Güler
Nilüfer
N
Atahan
Lale
L
Berberoğlu
Uğur
U
Altinok
Mehmet
M
Baran
Ismet
I
Celik
Ismail
I
Tekuzman
Gülten
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D000077143:Docetaxel; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D015251:Epirubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D043823:Taxoids; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel; D015251:Epirubicin; D017239:Paclitaxel; D005472:Fluorouracil