title: The first two lines of chemotherapy for anthracycline-naive metastatic breast cancer: a comparative study of the efficacy of anthracyclines and non-anthracyclines.
abstract: For anthracycline-naive metastatic breast cancer (AN-MBC), early anthracycline treatment is a common practice. However, with the availability of newer chemotherapies, comparative studies on the efficacy of anthracyclines and non-anthracyclines as early treatments for AN-MBC are lacking. We collected retrospective clinicopathological data from 253 AN-MBC patients treated at National Taiwan University Hospital between 2001 and 2006. Patients were categorised into anthracycline or non-anthracycline groups according to their regimens in the first two lines of chemotherapy. The overall survival (OS, 33.3 vs. 34.2 months, p = 0.179), time to treatment failure of the first two lines of chemotherapy drugs (13.3 vs. 12.7 months, p = 0.104) and best composite response rate (59.5% vs. 61.1%, p = 0.81) were not significantly different between the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that early anthracycline treatment was not a significant prognostic factor of OS (p = 0.052). Thus, the results of this study show that anthracyclines may not be necessary as an early treatment option for AN-MBC.
authors: Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Yun-Lin Branch, No. 579, Sec. 2, Yunlin Rd., Douliou, Yunlin 640, Taiwan; Department of Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung Shan South Rd., Taipei 100, Taiwan.
authors: Wei-Wu
authors: WW
authors: Chen
authors: Dwan-Ying
authors: DY
authors: Chang
authors: Shu-Min
authors: SM
authors: Huang
authors: Ching-Hung
authors: CH
authors: Lin
authors: Chun
authors: C
authors: Hsu
authors: Ming-Hwai
authors: MH
authors: Lin
authors: Chiun-Shen
authors: CS
authors: Huang
authors: Yen-Shen
authors: YS
authors: Lu
authors: Ann-Lii
authors: AL
authors: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018943:Anthracyclines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015251:Epirubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D010166:Palliative Care; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D018943:Anthracyclines; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D004317:Doxorubicin; D015251:Epirubicin; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; C506643:liposomal doxorubicin; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human
keywords: Anthracyclines; Her2; Metastatic breast cancer; Overall survival; Palliative chemotherapy