Longer therapy, iatrogenic amenorrhea, and survival in early breast cancer - PubMed (original) (raw)

Clinical Trial

. 2010 Jun 3;362(22):2053-65.

doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0909638.

Jong-Hyeon Jeong, Charles E Geyer Jr, Joseph P Costantino, Eduardo R Pajon, Louis Fehrenbacher, James N Atkins, Jonathan Polikoff, Victor G Vogel, John K Erban, Priya Rastogi, Robert B Livingston, Edith A Perez, Eleftherios P Mamounas, Stephanie R Land, Patricia A Ganz, Norman Wolmark

Affiliations

Clinical Trial

Longer therapy, iatrogenic amenorrhea, and survival in early breast cancer

Sandra M Swain et al. N Engl J Med. 2010.

Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy regimens that combine anthracyclines and taxanes result in improved disease-free and overall survival among women with operable lymph-node-positive breast cancer. The effectiveness of concurrent versus sequential regimens is not known.

Methods: We randomly assigned 5351 patients with operable, node-positive, early-stage breast cancer to receive four cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by four cycles of docetaxel (sequential ACT); four cycles of doxorubicin and docetaxel (doxorubicin-docetaxel); or four cycles of doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel (concurrent ACT). The primary aims were to examine whether concurrent ACT was more effective than sequential ACT and whether the doxorubicin-docetaxel regimen would be as effective as the concurrent-ACT regimen. The secondary aims were to assess toxic effects and to correlate amenorrhea with outcomes in premenopausal women.

Results: At a median follow-up of 73 months, overall survival was improved in the sequential-ACT group (8-year overall survival, 83%) as compared with the doxorubicin-docetaxel group (overall survival, 79%; hazard ratio for death, 0.83; P=0.03) and the concurrent-ACT group (overall survival, 79%; hazard ratio, 0.86; P=0.09). Disease-free survival was improved in the sequential-ACT group (8-year disease-free survival, 74%) as compared with the doxorubicin-docetaxel group (disease-free survival, 69%; hazard ratio for recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death, 0.80; P=0.001) and the concurrent-ACT group (disease-free survival, 69%; hazard ratio, 0.83; P=0.01). The doxorubicin-docetaxel regimen showed noninferiority to the concurrent-ACT regimen for overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval, 0.82 to 1.14). Overall survival was improved in patients with amenorrhea for 6 months or more across all treatment groups, independently of estrogen-receptor status.

Conclusions: Sequential ACT improved disease-free survival as compared with doxorubicin-docetaxel or concurrent ACT, and it improved overall survival as compared with doxorubicin-docetaxel. Amenorrhea was associated with improved survival regardless of the treatment and estrogen-receptor status. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00003782.)

2010 Massachusetts Medical Society

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Enrollment, Randomization, and Follow-up of Study Participants.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Overall Survival and Disease-free Survival

Panels A and B show the Kaplan–Meier estimates of survival and disease-free survival in the three treatment groups over the follow-up period. P values are by two-sided log-rank tests. At the prespecified significance level of 0.05, a significant improvement in overall survival was associated with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (sequential ACT) as compared with doxorubicin–docetaxel (P = 0.03), and a marginal benefit was associated with sequential ACT over concurrent administration of doxorubicin, docetaxel, and cyclophosphamide (concurrent ACT) (P = 0.09) (Panel A). There was a statistically significant decrease in disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death in the sequential-ACT group as compared with the concurrent-ACT group (P = 0.01). In addition, the rate of disease-free survival was significantly higher among patients in the sequential-ACT group than among patients in the doxorubicin–docetaxel group (P = 0.001) (Panel B). Panels C and D show the effect of amenorrhea on overall survival and disease-free survival, respectively, for the combined treatment groups adjusted for treatment, estrogen-receptor status, age, lymph-node status, tumor size, and use or nonuse of hormone therapy. Overall survival (hazard ratio for death, 0.76; P = 0.04) and disease-free survival (hazard ratio for disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death, 0.70; P<0.001) were improved among patients with amenorrhea for 6 months or more.

Figure 3

Figure 3. Hazard Ratios for Various Subgroups, According to Treatment

Panel A shows the reduced risk of death associated with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (sequential ACT) as compared with concurrent administration of all three agents (concurrent ACT). Panel B shows the reduced risk of disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death associated with sequential ACT as compared with concurrent ACT. Panel C shows the reduced risk of death associated with sequential ACT as compared with doxorubicin–docetaxel. Panel D shows the reduced risk of disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death associated with sequential ACT as compared with doxorubicin–docetaxel. Panels E and F show data from the menstrual-history study. Panel E shows the risk of death according to subgroups, adjusted for lymph-node status and tumor size. Panel F shows the risk of disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death according to subgroups, adjusted for lymph-node status and tumor size. The size of the squares is proportional to the size of the subgroups. CI denotes confidence interval, and ER estrogen receptor.

Figure 3

Figure 3. Hazard Ratios for Various Subgroups, According to Treatment

Panel A shows the reduced risk of death associated with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel (sequential ACT) as compared with concurrent administration of all three agents (concurrent ACT). Panel B shows the reduced risk of disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death associated with sequential ACT as compared with concurrent ACT. Panel C shows the reduced risk of death associated with sequential ACT as compared with doxorubicin–docetaxel. Panel D shows the reduced risk of disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death associated with sequential ACT as compared with doxorubicin–docetaxel. Panels E and F show data from the menstrual-history study. Panel E shows the risk of death according to subgroups, adjusted for lymph-node status and tumor size. Panel F shows the risk of disease recurrence, a second malignant condition, or death according to subgroups, adjusted for lymph-node status and tumor size. The size of the squares is proportional to the size of the subgroups. CI denotes confidence interval, and ER estrogen receptor.

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