Abstract
This prospective clinical trial was designed to assess the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy in women with rapidly proliferating node-negative breast cancer. This group has been predicted to have a 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) of 70% without adjuvant chemotherapy. In this study, 449 women with rapidly proliferating breast cancer (91% measured by S-phase fraction and 9% by histochemistry) received adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) plus tamoxifen for estrogen receptor-positive or progesterone receptor-positive cancer. The 5-year DFS was 90% (+/- 2%) and the 5-year overall survival was 94% (+/- 1%). At a median follow-up of 62 months, the strategy of administering 6 cycles of AC to women with T2 N0 cancer and 3 cycles in those with smaller T1 N0 cancers appeared to eliminate tumor size as a potential prognostic factor. Adjuvant chemotherapy with AC appears effective in reducing recurrence rates for women with rapidly proliferating node-negative breast cancer.
Publication types
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Clinical Trial
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Aged
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Anticarcinogenic Agents / administration & dosage
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Anticarcinogenic Agents / therapeutic use*
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Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
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Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
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Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / administration & dosage
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Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
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Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
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Breast Neoplasms / mortality*
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Breast Neoplasms / pathology
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Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
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Cyclophosphamide / administration & dosage
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Cyclophosphamide / therapeutic use*
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Disease-Free Survival
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Doxorubicin / administration & dosage
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Doxorubicin / therapeutic use*
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Female
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Humans
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Lymph Nodes / pathology*
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Middle Aged
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Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology
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Neoplasm Invasiveness / prevention & control
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Prospective Studies
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Survival Rate
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Tamoxifen / administration & dosage
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Tamoxifen / therapeutic use*
Substances
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Anticarcinogenic Agents
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Antineoplastic Agents
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Tamoxifen
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Doxorubicin
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Cyclophosphamide