title: Clinical comparison on the safety and efficacy of fluorouracil/pirarubicin/cyclophosphamide (FPC) with fluorouracil/ epirubicin/cyclophosphamide (FEC) as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the safety and efficacy of a combination of 5-Fu, pirarubicin and CTX (FPC) with FEC as a postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 655 breast cancer patients were treated postoperatively in Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and Research Institute from 1995-2005, 292 were treated with FPC (5-Fu 500 mg/m2 i.v. gtt on day 1, pirarubicin 40 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, CTX 500 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 and a cycle repeated every 21-28 days for totally 4-6 cycles); 363 with FEC (5-Fu 500 mg/m2 i.v. gtt on day 1, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 and day 2, CTX 500 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1 and a cycle repeated every 21-28 days for totally 4-6 cycles). Toxicity was evaluated after each cycle of chemotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Main side effects in both FPC and FEC groups were leukopenia and gastrointestinal toxicity, with a 5 year survival rate 88.7% in FPC and 85.7% in FEC group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FPC regimen is safe with superior long-term survival rate when compared with FEC, thus could be recommended as a postoperative chemotherapy regimen for Chinese patients with breast cancer.
authors: Department of Chemotherapy, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Nanjing, China.
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Jin-Hai
authors: JH
authors: Tang
authors: Xin-En
authors: XE
authors: Huang
authors: Chen-guang
authors: CG
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015251:Epirubicin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D015251:Epirubicin; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; C027260:pirarubicin; D005472:Fluorouracil