title: Capecitabine maintenance therapy following docetaxel/capecitabine combination treatment in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
abstract: The present study aimed to analyze the efficacy of maintenance therapy with single agent capecitabine for human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients following disease control with 6 cycles of docetaxel plus capecitabine chemotherapy as the first-line treatment. As an initial treatment, 6 cycles of docetaxel plus capecitabine followed by maintenance therapy with capecitabine were administered. A total of 55 patients received combination therapy and 48 patients proceeded to maintenance therapy: Of these, 32 patients (66.7%) were postmenopausal and 37 (77.1%) had estrogen and progesterone receptor positive disease. The median progression-free survival rate with maintenance therapy was 5.5 months (95% CI, 0-11.4 months) and the median overall survival (OS) was 26.6 months (95% CI, 21.8-30.1 months). The use of maintenance therapy improved previous responses in 4 patients (8.3%; 2 partial and 2 complete responses) and 32 patients (66.7%) had stable disease. The median number of maintenance therapy cycles applied was 6.5 (range 1-28, total 441). The observation of side effects, including grade 3/4 neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and fatigue was more common during combination therapy. The results of the present study indicate that maintenance with single agent capecitabine therapy is an effective and tolerable treatment option for HER2 negative MBC patients in which disease control with 6 cycles of docetaxel plus capecitabine chemotherapy is achieved in the first-line setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeki Gokhan
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Surmeli
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Clinic, Izmir Katip Celebi University Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Umut
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Varol
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burcu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cakar
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Clinic, Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Degirmenci
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Clinic, Izmir University, Medical Park Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cagatay
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Clinic, Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gonul Demir
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Piskin
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Clinic, Bozyaka Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Baha
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zengel
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Burcak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karaca
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ulus Ali
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Sanli
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ruchan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Uslu
keywords: breast cancer; capecitabine; docetaxel; maintenance therapy