Carboplatin plus etoposide regimen in advanced breast cancer. A phase II study

Carboplatin is used in many kind of tumors with similar results to cisplatin but without the same toxicity. We decided to use it, in combination with etoposide, for metastatic breast cancer. Eighteen women with advanced breast disease entered this phase II study. Each of them received, every 28 days, carboplatin on day 1, at a dose calculated with the Calvert formula, and etoposide on days 1, 2, 3 at a dose of 100 mg/m2. For 12 women this treatment was the first-line chemotherapy, while for the other six it was the second-line therapy, after the administration and the failure, in 4 cases out of 6, of regimens based on anthracycline. In each group we obtained an objective response of 50%, with a complete response of 25% in the first and of 33% in the second. On the whole, 11 patients died (one not from the disease) (10/18, 55%). Toxicity was extremely mild, with only one patient with grade III anemia. Our data suggest that a carboplatin/etoposide combination could be active and well-tolerated in patients with metastatic breast cancer, but the few number of patients in this study makes further research necessary for confirmation.