CLINICAL-SIGNIFICANCE OF FIRST LINE TREATMENT IN RECURRENT BREAST-CANCER

From 1962 to 1992, 279 patients with recurrent breast cancer were trea ted. Of these, the cases with resected lesions, imperfectly evaluated cases and cases where information was lacking were excluded, and 185 r ecurrent breast cancers were evaluable at the first line or subsequent treatment. Sixty-seven (36.2%) out of 185 cases responded to first li ne treatment, while the remaining 118 cases did not respond. In the 67 responder cases at the first line treatments, 16 (23.9%) responded to second line or third line, however, in the 118 nonresponder cases, on ly 13 (11.0%) responded to next or subsequent treatment. The incidence of responder in the second line or third line treatment was significa ntly higher in the first line responder group than in the first line n onresponder group. Furthermore, overal survival of first line responde rs was significantly better than that of first line nonresponders. The re was no significant difference in the survival after recurrence betw een responders and nonresponders in the first line chemotherapy, chemo endocrine treatment or radiotherapy, however, a significant difference was seen between the two groups in the first line endocrine treatment . These results suggest that first line treatment may select the treat ment sensitive (especially, truly hormone-dependent) recurrent breast cancers which show a better prognosis.