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Purpose To describe benefits and toxicities of adjuvant endocrine therapies in women younger than 35 years with breast cancer (n = 582) enrolled in the Suppression of Ovarian Function Trial (SOFT) and Tamoxifen and Exemestane Trial (TEXT). Methods In SOFT, women still premenopausal after surgery with or without chemotherapy were randomly assigned to tamoxifen alone, tamoxifen plus ovarian function suppression (OFS), or exemestane plus OFS. In TEXT, all received OFS with or without concomitant chemotherapy and were randomly assigned to exemestane plus OFS or tamoxifen plus OFS. We summarize treatment efficacy, quality of life, and adherence of the cohort of women younger than 35 years in SOFT and TEXT, alongside data from the cohort of older premenopausal women. Results For 240 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative patients younger than 35 years enrolled in SOFT after receiving chemotherapy, the 5-year breast cancer-free interval (BCFI) was 67.1% (95% CI, 54.6% to 76.9%) with tamoxifen alone, 75.9% with tamoxifen plus OFS (95% CI, 64.0% to 84.4%), and 83.2% with exemestane plus OFS (95% CI, 72.7% to 90.0%). For 145 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative patients younger than 35 years in TEXT, 5-year BCFI was 79.2% (95% CI, 66.2% to 87.7%) with tamoxifen plus OFS and 81.6% (95% CI, 69.8% to 89.2%) with exemestane plus OFS. The most prominent quality of life symptom for patients younger than 35 years receiving OFS was vasomotor symptoms, with the greatest worsening from baseline at 6 months (on the order of 30 to 40 points), but loss of sexual interest and difficulties in becoming aroused were also clinically meaningful (≥ 8-point change). The level of symptom burden was similar in older premenopausal women. A total of 19.8% of women younger than 35 years stopped all protocol-assigned endocrine therapy early. Conclusion In women younger than 35 years with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, adjuvant OFS combined with tamoxifen or exemestane produces large improvements in BCFI compared with tamoxifen alone. Menopausal symptoms are significant but are not worse than those seen in older premenopausal women.

Introduction This study had three aims: to establish the incidence of ipsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR) in a community treatment setting, to evaluate known factors -in particular younger age (< 40 years) -predictive for local recurrence, and to assess the impact of local recurrence on disease-specific survival (DSS).

A randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a sucralfate mouthwash in preventing and alleviating oral mucositis induced by 5-fluorouracil (5FU). A total of 81 patients with colorectal cancer were enrolled. Patients were studied during their first cycle of chemotherapy with 5FU and leucovorin (LV) daily for 5 days every 4 weeks (Mayo Clinic schedule). Patients were randomly allocated to receive either a sucralfate suspension or a placebo suspension that was identical in appearance. Patients were instructed to use the suspension as a mouthwash four times daily from the beginning of the chemotherapy cycle. All patients received oral cryotherapy. Patients graded the severity of their own symptoms on a daily basis, and this was the primary outcome measure. There was no difference in the frequency or severity of oral mucositis between the sucralfate-and the placebo-treated group. Some mucositis was reported by 79% of the patient group. Assessment of mucositis by trial staff underestimated the incidence of this problem. Results of this trial do not support the hypothesis that a sucralfate mouthwash can prevent or alleviate oral mucositis induced by 5FU. Patient reporting of mucositis is a more sensitive instrument for assessment of mucositis than review by medical staff.