Etoposide, mitomycin, and methotrexate combination in heavily treated breast cancer: a retrospective study

• Published in: Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 16 - 22
• Main Authors: Aldabbagh, Kais, Pouderoux, Stéphane, Roca, Lise, Poujol, Sylvain, Fabbro, Michel, Romieu, Gilles, Jacot, William
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Springer Japan 2012; Springer
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Alopecia - chemically induced; Analysis; Anthracyclines; Antimitotic agents; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - mortality; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cancer; Cancer Research; Care and treatment; Disease-Free Survival; Etoposide - administration & dosage; Executives; Female; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metastasis; Methotrexate - administration & dosage; Middle Aged; Mitomycin; Mitomycin - administration & dosage; Oncology; Oncology, Experimental; Original Article; Retrospective Studies; Surgery; Surgical Oncology; Survival Rate; Etoposide; Efficacy; Breast cancer; Mitomycin C; Methotrexate; Toxicity
• ISSN: 1340-6868; 1880-4233
• DOI: 10.1007/s12282-010-0240-7

Background Since 2004, metastatic breast cancer patients pretreated with anthracyclines, taxanes, and capecitabine have been treated in our institution with a combination of mitomycin C, methotrexate, and VP-16 (VMM). We report in this study a retrospective analysis of the activity and safety of the VMM combination. Methods Patients were treated with a combination of VP-16 (100 mg/m 2 on day 1), mitomycin C (MMC, 10 mg/m 2 on day 1), and methotrexate (MTX, 12.5 mg/m 2 twice a day on day 2 and 3) in a 21-day cycle. Results Seventy-five patients were treated. Median age was 48 years. A total of 256 cycles were administered. Median relative dose intensities were 0.87, 0.87, and 0.95 for VP-16, MMC, and MTX, respectively. Objective response rate was 31%, with a clinical benefit rate of 47%. Median response duration was 5.8 months. Median disease stabilization duration was 9.1 months. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.2 months with a 14% 1-year PFS rate. Median overall survival (OS) was 6.2 months, with a 25% 1-year OS rate. Myelosuppression was the most common toxicity. The most commonly reported extra-hematological adverse event (AE) was fatigue. Emesis and alopecia were rarely reported. Conclusions This combination appears to be effective and well tolerated in this heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer population.