WEEKLY CAF CHEMOTHERAPY FOR ADVANCED BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

In a prospective phase II study, 102 women with advanced breast cancer were treated with low doses of cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin and 5-flu orouracil (CAF) at weekly intervals by intravenous injection, Seventy- five patients were evaluable for treatment response and the overall re sponse rate was 52% (95% confidence interval, 41-63%), Of the evaluabl e patients, 15% had complete response and 37% had partial response, Th e median survival after therapy was 15.6 months, the median time to pr ogression was 6.8 months and the median duration of response was 9.1 m onths, The main toxicities were mild vomiting and moderate myelosuppre ssion. There was only 1 patient who experienced heart failure, Weekly CAF appears to have an efficacy with tolerable side effects comparable to standard CAF with an every-3-week schedule.