Vindesine in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer

Thirty-five patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer refractory to prior chemotherapy were treated with vindesine given at a fixed dose as a continuous 5-day infusion of 1.5 mg/day every 4 weeks. All patients were considered evaluable, and there were four patients with partial responses for more than 3 months (11%) and 13 patients with stable disease (37%). Two of the four responders had had disease progression on other vinca alkaloids. None of the responders had proven doxorubicin resistance. Side-effects included myelosuppression, neurotoxicity, nausea, stomatitis and fever, but these were seldom dose-limiting. The results--together with the results of other single-agent studies of vindesine summarized in the paper--indicate that the drug is an active agent in advanced breast cancer. However, the optimum way of administering vindesine and its inclusion in first-line therapy needs further study.