A Phase II Study of Combination Chemotherapy with Capecitabine and Intravenous Vinorelbine in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer Previously Treated with Anthracyclines and Taxanes: Efficacy and Tolerance

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and the second most common cause of cancerrelated death in developed countries. Despite early diagnosis of breast cancer, a large proportion (up to 40%) of breast cancer patients will develop metastatic disease that is incurable with conventional treatment. The average survival time from diagnosis of metastasis for these patients is 18-30 months, although this varies considerably according to the metastatic site 1. Conventional chemotherapy regimens based on cyclophosphamide, 5-florouracil (5-FU) and methotrexate (CMF) or an anthracycline (FAC,FEC) achieve response rates (RRs) of 40-80% in chemotherapy-naive patients, although further relapse is the rule, usually within months of stopping treatment, moreover the increasing use of chemotherapy, particularly anthracycline-based regimens, in the adjuvant sitting means that new treatment options are required for metastatic disease 2. Several