Objective: To asses the efficacy of adjuvant endocrine therapy in ER-positive breast cancer patients after radical mastectomy.
Methods: 369 estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer patients were divided into two groups after radical mastectomy: 1. Endocrine group (N-194). The postmenopausal patients in this group received oral tamoxifen (TAM) for five years and the premenopausal patients were first treated with bilateral ovary ablation and, then, given TAM for five years. 2. The chemotherapy group patients (N-175) received CTX + MTX + 5-Fu + VCR + DXM) (CMFVP) or CTX + MTX + 5-Fu (CMF) multi-drug chemotherapy.
Results: Postmenopausal patients in the endocrine and chemotherapy groups gave disease-free survival rates (DFSR) of 78.4% and 45.4% (P < 0.01). Their overall survival rates were 83.3% and 52.9% (P < 0.05). The premenopausal patients gave DFSR of 72.8% and 35.7% (P < 0.01), and their overall survival rates were 80.7% and 60.6% (P < 0.05). But, no significant difference was observed in the stage I patients and those having > or = 8 axillary lymph node metastases (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: For ER-positive breast cancer patients, the adjuvant endocrine therapy gives results superior or equal to multi-drug chemotherapy after radical mastectomy.