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Gemcitabine in combination with vinorelbine for heavily pretreated advanced breast cancer.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the activity and toxicity of gemcitabine and vinorelbine in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), previously treated with anthracyclines alone or with taxanes.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 86 pretreated patients with MBC (median age 62 years), entered the study. Thirty-six patients had been pretreated with anthracyclines and 8 were resistant. The combination of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) and vinorelbine (25 mg/m2) was administered on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks, for a total of 6 cycles.


RESULTS
A total of 344 cycles of chemotherapy were administered (median 4 cycles per patient). Partial responses were observed in 31 patients (36.0%; 95% CI: 23-56). The median duration of response was 7 months (range 3-11 months) and the median overall survival was 14 months (range 6-21). The scheme was well tolerated.


CONCLUSION
The combination of vinorelbine and gemcitabine is an active scheme in pretreated MBC, demonstrating an acceptable toxicity profile, and may well represent a valuable therapeutic choice after anthracycline/taxane regimens.