BACKGROUND Older women with breast cancer are underrepresented in clinical trials, and data on the effects of adjuvant chemotherapy in such patients are scant. We tested for the noninferiority of capecitabine as compared with standard chemotherapy in women with breast cancer who were 65 years of age or older. METHODS We randomly assigned patients with stage I, II, IIIA, or IIIB breast cancer to standard chemotherapy (either cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil or cyclophosphamide plus doxorubicin) or capecitabine. Endocrine therapy was recommended after chemotherapy in patients with hormone-receptor–positive tumors. A Bayesian statistical design was used with a range in sample size from 600 to 1800 patients. The primary end point was relapse-free survival. RESULTS When the 600th patient was enrolled, the probability that, with longer follow-up, capecitabine therapy was highly likely to be inferior to standard chemotherapy met a prescribed level, and enrollment was discontinued. After an additional year of follow-up, the hazard ratio for disease recurrence or death in the capecitabine group was 2.09 (95% confidence interval, 1.38 to 3.17; P<0.001). Patients who were randomly assigned to capecitabine were twice as likely to have a relapse and almost twice as likely to die as patients who were randomly assigned to standard chemotherapy (P = 0.02). At 3 years, the rate of relapse-free survival was 68% in the capecitabine group versus 85% in the standard-chemotherapy group, and the overall survival rate was 86% versus 91%. Two patients in the capecitabine group died of treatment-related complications; as compared with patients receiving capecitabine, twice as many patients receiving standard chemotherapy had moderate-to-severe toxic effects (64% vs. 33%). CONCLUSIONS Standard adjuvant chemotherapy is superior to capecitabine in patients with early-stage breast cancer who are 65 years of age or older. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00024102.)

The doses of chemotherapy used to treat breast cancer, especially early breast cancer, should not be reduced if the maximal benefit is to be achieved.

BACKGROUND. The optimal trastuzumab‐based chemotherapy regimen for HER2‐overexpressing, metastatic breast cancer is not known. The trastuzumab and vinorelbine or taxane (TRAVIOTA) study was a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial that was designed to compare these regimens. METHODS. Eligible patients had HER2‐overexpressing, metastatic breast cancer and had received no prior chemotherapy for advanced disease. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either trastuzumab with weekly vinorelbine therapy or weekly taxane therapy (paclitaxel or docetaxel at the investigator's choice). Originally planned for 250 patients, the study was closed because of poor accrual with 81 evaluable patients, including 41 patients who received vinorelbine and 40 patients who received taxane. RESULTS. Response rates were 51% and 40% for the vinorelbine/trastuzumab arm and the taxane/trastuzumab arm, respectively (Fisher exact test; P = .37). The median time to disease progression was 8.5 months and 6.0 months for the vinorelbine‐ and taxane‐based arms, respectively (log‐rank test; P = .09). Treatment with either regimen generally was well tolerated, yielding comparable rates of neurologic and gastrointestinal toxicity. Vinorelbine‐based treatment was associated with more anemia and neutropenia and with 2 episodes of cardiotoxicity. Taxane‐based therapy was associated with more dermatologic toxicity, myalgias, and fluid retention. CONCLUSIONS. Both vinorelbine/trastuzumab and taxane/trastuzumab treatments were active as first‐line therapy for HER2‐positive, metastatic breast cancer and had comparable rates of efficacy and tolerability. The toxicities observed were the result of recognized side effects associated with each of the chemotherapy agents and schedules. These data can inform treatment decision making in this clinical setting. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.

PURPOSE Older women with breast cancer remain under-represented in clinical trials. The Cancer and Leukemia Group B 49907 trial focused on women age 65 years and older. We previously reported the primary analysis after a median follow-up of 2.4 years. Standard adjuvant chemotherapy showed significant improvements in recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival compared with capecitabine. We now update results at a median follow-up of 11.4 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients age 65 years or older with early breast cancer were randomly assigned to either standard adjuvant chemotherapy (physician’s choice of either cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil or cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin) or capecitabine. An adaptive Bayesian design was used to determine sample size and test noninferiority of capecitabine. The primary end point was RFS. RESULTS The design stopped accrual with 633 patients at its first sample size assessment. RFS remains significantly longer for patients treated with standard chemotherapy. At 10 years, in patients treated with standard chemotherapy versus capecitabine, the RFS rates were 56% and 50%, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.80; P = .03); breast cancer–specific survival rates were 88% and 82%, respectively (HR, 0.62; P = .03); and overall survival rates were 62% and 56%, respectively (HR, 0.84; P = .16). With longer follow-up, standard chemotherapy remains superior to capecitabine among hormone receptor–negative patients (HR, 0.66; P = .02), but not among hormone receptor–positive patients (HR, 0.89; P = .43). Overall, 43.9% of patients have died (13.1% from breast cancer, 16.4% from causes other than breast cancer, and 14.1% from unknown causes). Second nonbreast cancers occurred in 14.1% of patients. CONCLUSION With longer follow-up, RFS remains superior for standard adjuvant chemotherapy versus capecitabine, especially in patients with hormone receptor–negative disease. Competing risks in this older population dilute overall survival benefits.

Thirty patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia were treated with recombinant human erythropoietin for 4 weeks. In this dose-escalation study, cohorts of five to eight patients were treated per dose level. The doses of erythropoietin were 25, 50, 100, 200, or 300 IU/kg/d given intravenously for 5 days each week. Of 30 patients, 15 (50%) had a greater than 10% increase of their hemoglobin (Hb) values and were considered responders. At the two highest dose levels, 11 of 13 patients (85%) responded. In the 15 responding patients, the mean Hb level increased by 1.7 g/dL from baseline compared with an average decrease of 1.5 g/dL in the previous cycles of chemotherapy without erythropoietin administration. Recombinant human erythropoietin is effective in ameliorating chemotherapy-induced anemia when administered in adequate doses.