Abstract

It is clear from the studies summarized above that the combination of leucovorin and 5-FU can salvage 15–20% of heavily-pretreated patients with advanced breast cancer. In previously-untreated patients, the combination generates objective responses in over one third of women with a very modest and acceptable toxicity profile. It is also clear that the addition of mitoxantrone or cisplatin to 5-FU and leucovorin produces very effective regimens, that, at least in the case of the platinum combination, may be quite active in patients who have failed therapy with an anthracycline. All of these recently-completed trials, suggest that studies currently in progress aimed at improving the biochemical modulation of the fluoropyrimidines have real promise for enhancing the therapy of patients with advanced breast cancer further.

This study was supported by Cancer Center Support Grant CA-33572. Requests for reprints should be addressed to James H. Doroshow, M.D., Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010. These results have been reported, in part, in Proc. Amer. Soc. Clin. Oncol, 10: 65 (1991).

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Doroshow, J.H. et al. (1993). Fluorouracil and Leucovorin in Advanced Breast Cancer. In: Rustum, Y.M. (eds) Novel Approaches to Selective Treatments of Human Solid Tumors. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 339. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2488-5_19

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