Anthracyclines in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer

This is a brief review of the trials that have been performed to demonstrate the advantages of doxorubicin over other agents in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. Moreover, the cytotoxic potential of doxorubicin, its ability to reduce the duration of treatment, and the importance of the timing of administration are discussed. Unfortunately, none of the reported trials can provide definitive conclusions, since doxorubicin was not used in direct comparisons. The interim results of 2 ongoing direct comparisons with anthracyclines have been reported, but have so far revealed no distinct advantage with regard to antitumour potency, although preliminary results in these and other trials appear to suggest that the doxorubicin analogue, epirubicin, may be better tolerated.