Extending Survival with Chemotherapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer -- O’Shaughnessy 10 (Supplement 3): 20 -- The Oncologist

Correspondence: Joyce O’Shaughnessy, M.D., Baylor-Sammons Cancer Center, 3535 Worth St., Collins 5, Dallas, Texas 75246, USA. Telephone: 214-370-1795; Fax: 214-370-1850; e-mail: joyce.o’[email protected] Received October 3, 2005; accepted for publication October 7, 2005. ©AlphaMed Press 1083-7159/2005/$12.00/0 Abstract Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remains essentially incurable, and goals of therapy include the palliation of symptoms, delay of disease progression, and prolongation of overall survival time without negatively impacting quality of life. Anthracycline and taxane-based therapies have traditionally shown the highest degree of activity in MBC. Though numerous randomized clinical trials have shown improvements in overall response rates, few have found clear survival benefits. In recent years, however, there has been a small but growing series of clinical trials demonstrating modest, but meaningful survival advantages in metastatic disease. A common feature in many of these trials has been the use of a taxane, and more recently, a taxane combined with an antimetabolite. In addition, the development of targeted biologic agents active against MBC, such as trastuzumab and bevacizumab, has demonstrated great potential for enhancing the effects of chemotherapy and producing meaningful survival improvements. The role of the taxanes, antimetabolites, and biologics in extending survival in MBC is discussed. The Oncologist 2005;10(suppl 3):20–29