Mitomycin‐C and megestrol acetate in treatment of breast cancer refractory to hormonal and combination chemotherapy

• Published in: Cancer Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 392 - 395
• Main Authors: Buzdar, Aman U., Tashima, Charles K., Blumenschein, George R., Hortobagyi, Gabriel N., Yap, Hwee‐Yong, Krutchik, Allan N., Bodey, Gerald P., Livingston, Robert B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.02.1978
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Bone Marrow - drug effects; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Drug Resistance; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Megestrol - adverse effects; Megestrol - analogs & derivatives; Megestrol - therapeutic use; Middle Aged; Mitomycins - adverse effects; Mitomycins - therapeutic use; Neoplasm Metastasis - drug therapy; Remission, Spontaneous; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(197802)41:2<392::AID-CNCR2820410202>3.0.CO;2-7

Fifty patients with breast cancer refractory to endocrine manipulation and/or combination chemotherapy were treated with mitomycin‐C 20 mg/m2 I.V. every 4–6 weeks and megestrol acetate 160 mg daily. Of 48 evaluable patients, 4% achieved complete remission (CR), 23% had partial remission (PR). Median duration of response for CR and PR was 7 months. Non‐responders had a median survival of 2 months. The difference in survival of responders (both CR and PR) and non‐responders was statistically significant at p<0.01 level. Attenuated doses of mitomycin‐C were administered at increasing intervals due to cumulative myelosuppressive toxicity.