Retrospective Analysis of the Results of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients with 10 or More Positive Nodes: Nonrandomized Comparison of Adriamycin-Containing Regimens

Ahn, Jin Hee; Bahng, Haeseoung; Kim, Jeong Gyun; Kim, Sung Bae; Ahn, Sei Hyun; Chang, Hyesook; Lee, Jung Shin; Kim, Sang Hee; Kim, Woo Kun

doi:2002.34.2.84

Cancer Research and Treatment > Volume 34(2); 2002 > Article

Original Article

Cancer Research and Treatment 2002;34(2): 84-90. doi: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2002.34.2.84

Retrospective Analysis of the Results of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients with 10 or More Positive Nodes: Nonrandomized Comparison of Adriamycin-Containing Regimens

Jin Hee Ahn, Haeseoung Bahng, Jeong Gyun Kim, Sung Bae Kim, Sei Hyun Ahn, Hyesook Chang, Jung Shin Lee, Sang Hee Kim, Woo Kun Kim

¹Department of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University ofUlsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University ofUlsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Radiation-Oncology, Asan Medical Center,University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.wkkim@amc.seoul.kr

Published online: April 30, 2002.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:
To evaluate the results of adriamycin-based adjuvant chemotherapy with or without high dose chemotherapy (HDC) with stem cell transplantation (SCT) in breast cancer with 10 or more positive axillary nodes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Seventy-one breast cancer patients who had undergone surgery and had 10 or more positive axillary nodes were included in this study held between January 1997 and December 1999. The pathologic and clinical records were reviewed retrospectively.
RESULTS:
Twenty-nine patients were treated with adriamycin followed by 8 courses of CMF (group I); 22 patients received 4 courses of adriamycin and 7 patients received 3 courses of adriamycin. Twenty-six patients received median 6 courses of CAF (group II) and 16 patients underwent HDC and autologous SCT (group III). With a median follow-up of 27.1 months, relapses were observed in 24 patients (33.8%) and the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 57.1%; group I/II 55.4%, and group III 62.7%. The three-year overall survival (OS) rate was 86.1%; group I/II 83.0%, group III 93.8%. There were no difference in the 3-year DFSs or in the OSs of group I and group II. However, patients who received only 3 courses of the sequential adriamycin in group I showed a significantly poorer 3-year OS than those that received 4 courses of adriamycin (42.9% vs. 95.5%).
CONCLUSION:
Our study shows that adriamycin-containing combination chemotherapy is as effective as HDC with SCT in patients with 10 or more positive axillary lymph nodes judging by 3-year DFS and OS, and shows that three courses of adriamycin seems to be inadequate.

Key words: Breast neoplasm;Adjuvant chemotherapy;Adriamycin;Stem cell transplantation