There is no effective second-line chemotherapy for the advanced breast cancer. Previously CALGB reported that CAFVP combination chematherapy was more effective than the CMF or CMFVP combination chemotherapy for the advanced breast cancer. So we treated 38 advanced breast cancer patients with CAFVP combination chemotherapy, who had received previous chemotherapy, between June 1979 and September 1992. Median age was 41. 23 patients had prior mastectamy with adjuvant chemotherapy, 9 patients had prior mastectomy without adjuvant chemotherapy and 6 patients had initially stage IV lesions. All had been received prior chemotherapy. The menopausal status was as follows; 29 patients were premenopausal, 9 postmenopausaL The perfomance status was grade 0 to 1(ECOG) in 2l patients, 2 in 17. Treatment was cyclophosphamide 100 mg/m(2) po, day 1 l4, adriamycin 25 mg/m(2) iv, day 1 and 8, 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m(2) iv, day 1 and 8, vincristine 1.4 mg/m iv, day 1 and 8, and pred- nisolone 60 mg/day po, day 1-14. The treatment was recycled every 4 weeks until the progression of the disease. Amang 26 patients with measurable lesions, 8(31%) achieved responses(l CR and 7 PR). Median duration of response was 7 months. Median survival for all patients was 20 months. Toxicity was as follows: leukopenia 35/, anemia 37%, thrombocytopenia 1%, N/V 21%. No treatment related death was observed during the treatment. It was concluded that CAFVP combination chemotherapy is not superior to other combination chemotherapy regimens, and myelosuppression is a major dose-limiting toxicity.