Dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy with epirubicin monotherapy in patients with operable breast cancer and >/=10 positive axillary lymph nodes. A feasibility study

Oncology. 1998 Nov-Dec;55(6):508-12. doi: 10.1159/000011903.

Abstract

Forty-one patients with operable breast cancer and >/=10 positive axillary lymph nodes were treated with 6 cycles of dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of epirubicin (100 mg/m2) every 2 weeks with G-CSF support. A total of 240 cycles were administered, all of them at full dose and 19 (8%) with a delay. Thirty-eight (93%) patients completed the treatment according to the protocol. The relative dose intensity of epirubicin was 0.99. Grade 3 toxicities included anemia (3%), nausea and vomiting (5%) and alopecia (71%). After a median follow-up of 40 months, 16 (39%) patients were free of relapse. In conclusion, the present study has shown that the administration of dose-dense chemotherapy with epirubicin is feasible in the adjuvant setting with minimal toxicity.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / therapeutic use*
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Administration Schedule
  • Epirubicin / therapeutic use*
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Middle Aged

Substances

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor
  • Epirubicin