Clinical comparison of safety and efficacy of vinorelbine/epirubicin (NE) with fluorouracil/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide (FEC).

OBJECTIVE To compare the safety and efficacy of a combination of vinorelbine and epirubicin (NE) with fluorouracil/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide (FEC) as a postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. METHODS Breast cancer patients were treated postoperatively in Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and Research Institute from 1997 to 2006 with either the NE regimen (vinorelbine 40 mg/m2 iv on day 1 and day 8, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 iv on day 1 and day 2, and a cycle repeated every 21-28 days for totally 4-6 cycles) or the FEC regimen (5-Fu 500 mg/m2 iv gtt on day 1, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 iv on day 1 and day 2, CTX 500 mg/m2 iv on day 1 and a cycle repeated every 21-28 days for totally 4-6 cycles). Toxicity was evaluated after each cycle of chemotherapy. RESULTS Main side effects in both NE and FEC groups were neutropenia and gastrointestinal syndrome, with a 5 year survival rate of 87.9% in the NE and 85.2% in the FEC group. CONCLUSIONS NE regimen is safe with good long-term survival rate, and thus could be recommended as a postoperative chemotherapy regimen for breast cancer.