[Remission maintenance with cytostatic long-term therapy in metastatic breast cancer]

72 patients with metastatic breast cancer were evaluated in a retrospective trial with a chemotherapeutic maintenance protocol consisting of cyclophosphamide and methotrexate. The maintenance protocol was started after surgery, radiation, hormonal treatment, and four initial courses of aggressive chemotherapy after Salmon and Jones. The median survival after the initiation of chemotherapy was 19 months. It could be demonstrated that the mild maintenance therapy after remission induction with an aggressive regimen will bring no disadvantage compared with consistently repeated induction therapy, but a considerable improvement of life quality.