High-dose medroxyprogesterone acetate in combination with vindesine in advanced breast cancer

Forty-three evaluable women with metastatic breast cancer received treatment with high-dose medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) plus vindesine. Patients tolerated treatment well, no lethal toxicities occurred. The commonest side-effects were hemopoietic, with leukopenia documented in 22 patients. Symptoms of peripheral neuritis occurred in 10 patients. A response rate of 28% (12 out of 43 patients) was seen. Ten of the responding patients had multiple prior chemotherapeutic agents. These results indicate that the combination of MPA and vindesine is not of value in patients with advanced breast cancer.