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KMID : 1188520050010010033
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Korean Journal of Clinical Oncology
2005 Volume.1 No. 1 p.33 ~ p.39
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Current status of chemotherapy for breast cancer
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Han Se-Hwan
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Abstract
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Systemic recurrence is the main cause of death in breast cancer patients. Meta-analysis of randomized prospective trials indicates that adjuvant chemotherapy with two or three drugs can improve the clinical outcome of the breast cancer patients regardless of age and hormone receptor status Classical combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and fluorouracil (CMF) has been the most extensively studied regimen, and CMF is still the mainstay of the adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Recently, anthracyclne-containing chemotherapy appears to be more effective than CMF from long-term follow-up data Improved response to tha taxanes in metastatic breast cancer prompts the use of taxanes in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting, and the results from clinical trials using adjuvant taxanes indicate that systemic recurrence of node-positive breast cancer can be further reduced by adjuvant taxanes. Early use of anthracyclines and taxanes in tha adjuvant setting seems to be increased although there has been no evidence for the improvement of the overall survival of the patients. However, the increased use of more toxic chemotherapeutics is associated with increased incidence of adverse effects albeit it can improve the clinical outcome. Development of useful predictive factors for the response to the specific agents is important to minimize the adverse effects. In metastatic disease, sequential and/or dose-dense chemotherapies are increasingly accepted because each method are well tolerated by reducing the adverse effects. Anthracyclines and taxanes are the preferred first line chemotherapeutic agent in metastatic breast cancer.
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KEYWORD
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Breast cancer, Chemotherapy
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