Gemcitabine in the management of metastatic breast cancer: a systematic review

Abstract

Available data do not support the acceptance of gemcitabine as a standard therapeutic option in women with metastatic breast cancer in the third-line or greater setting, nor should it be considered as first-line therapy in anthracycline naïve women. Gemcitabine appears to be most effective when administered with a taxane (docetaxel/paclitaxel) in the first- or second-line setting, with gemcitabine/taxane combinations representing a viable alternative to currently accepted taxane combinations such as capecitabine/docetaxel. There is no evidence at this time to support the use of gemcitabine triplets, given the equal efficacy to anthracycline triplets and the added toxicity.

Biweekly gemcitabine–paclitaxel, gemcitabine–carboplatin, or gemcitabine–cisplatin as first-line treatment in metastatic breast cancer after anthracycline failure: a phase II randomized selection trial

“…Gemcitabine, a pyrimidine antimetabolite, has potential for combination therapy because of its unique mechanism of action and non-overlapping toxicity profile with nonanthracycline treatments [6][7][8]. Two randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of gemcitabine/taxane combinations as first-line and/or second-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer [9,10].…”

Whether drainage should be used after surgery for breast cancer? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

“…Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women in many advanced countries [1,2]. About 200,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in USA and among them, more than 40,000 cases of death occurred.…”

Phase II study of Gemcitabine for treatment of patients with advanced stage marginal zone B-cell lymphoma: Consortium for Improving Survival of Lymphoma (CISL) trial

“…Further preclinical testing of gemcitabine in NHL cell lines has demonstrated encouraging activity, similar to that observed with ARA-C and 2-CDA [12]. Gemcitabine has been shown to exert anti-tumor effects against several solid tumors, including pancreatic, ovarian, lung, breast, and bladder tumors [13][14][15]. In clinical trials, gemcitabine has been shown to evidence significant clinical activity in relapsed patients with both Hodgkin's disease and aggressive NHL, generating improved response rates [16][17][18].…”

“…Gemcitabine is an analogue of deoxycytidine, with activity against several solid tumors-including pancreatic, lung, and breast cancer [13][14][15]. It is well tolerated, with minimal hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities.…”