[Chemotherapy in metastasized breast carcinoma]

Metastatic breast cancer is still an incurable disease. Standard hormonal and chemotherapeutic treatment modalities yield at the best a survival advantage of 1 to 2 years. However, palliation is still the second, very important goal of treatment for metastatic disease. First-line chemotherapeutic treatment with an anthracycline-containing regimen induces a response in about half the patients. In second-line treatment docetaxel is an effective agent even in patients failing first-line therapy with an anthracycline-containing regimen. There is no effective standard third-line chemotherapy scheme.