Oral Ftorafur Plus Intramuscular Thiotepa as Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of a combination of oral ftorafur administered together with intramuscular thiotepa as adjuvant chemotherapy for "early" breast cancer patients. A total of 30 patients with operated breast cancer were treated with 500 mg/m2 oral ftorafur for 10 consecutive days plus 20 mg/m2 intramuscular (im) administered thiotepa on d 1 and 8 every 28 d adjuvant chemotherapy. Eleven patients were premenopausal and 19 were postmenopausal, with a median age of 53 yr. The total number of cycles delivered was 259 (median: 10 cycles per patient). Toxicity was low and usually consisted of leukopenia WHO grade I-II (14%) and neutropenia grade I-II (6%). Gastrointestinal toxicity was minimal. The 5-yr disease-free survival and overall survival were 55% and 84%, respectively. Relapse occurred as bone metastases (50%), local recurrence (25%), and liver (17%) and brain (8%) metastases. Our preliminary data showed that oral ftorafur and im thiotepa is a well-tolerated regimen and could be a useful alternative to the intravenous parenteral route as adjuvant treatment for early breast cancer. Randomized trials are needed to assess the possible advantage of this regimen over intravenous schedules.

Forodesine (BCX-1777, Immucillin H) - A New Purine Nucleoside Analogue: Mechanism of Action and Potential Clinical Application

“…Immucillins have potential for the treatment of T-cell cancer, autoimmune disorders, tissue transplant rejection, psoriasis, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and malaria [17,18,30]. Immucillins have potential for the treatment of T-cell cancer, autoimmune disorders, tissue transplant rejection, psoriasis, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and malaria [17,18,30].…”

“…Forodesine is a potent purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) inhibitor which acts as a T-cell selective immunosuppressive agent [17]. It is active in some experimental tumors in animals such as mice, dogs, rats and monkeys, however it could be also used for the treatment of human T-cell proliferative disorders 1,2 [18]. Recently, preclinical and clinical data showed also activity of forodesine in B-cell acute lymphoblasic leukemia (ALL).…”