An effective low-dose adriamycin regimen as secondary chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer patients

Sixty breast cancer patients with hormone-resistant metastatic disease who had progressed after chemotherapy with low-dose cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) or with L-phenylalanine mustard underwent treatment with a low-dose Adriamycin regimen,i.e., 20 mg/m2, intravenously on days 1 and 8 every 28 days. Two percent of patients had complete responses; 25%, partial responses; 38%, stabilization; and 35%, progression. The time to progression for the responders was similar to that of the stabilized patients, while the responders and stabilized patients survived significantly longer than did the progressors. Responses were seen in nodal, hepatic, dermal/subcutaneous, bone, pulmonary, and peritoneal metastases. The toxicity was mild: 18% of patients had leukocyte counts of less than 3,000/mm3; 10% had platelet counts of less than 90,000/mm3, 22% experience vomiting; and 33% had hair loss. No patient experienced local venous/subcutaneous toxicity or heart failure. Since this regimen of low-dose Adriamycin appears to be as effective as, but less toxic than, the secondary standard-dose of Adriamycin at 60--75 mg/m2 every three weeks, a randomized trial of low-dose Adriamycin vs. standard-dose Adriamycin should be conducted in metastatic breast cancer patients who have previously undergone chemotherapy.