Back to Search
Start Over
Chemoimmunotherapy of advanced breast cancer: prolongation of remission and survival with BCG.
- Source :
-
British medical journal [Br Med J] 1976 Nov 20; Vol. 2 (6046), pp. 1222-5. - Publication Year :
- 1976
-
Abstract
- Forty-five patients with disseminated breast cancer were given a trial of combination chemotherapy consisting of fluorouracil, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide (FAC) and immunotherapy with BCG given by scarification. The results were compared with those in a comparable group of 44 patients treated with FAC alone immediately before the chemoimmunotherapy study. The remission rates (73% and 76% for FAC and FAC-BCG respectively) were similar in both studies. The durations of remission for patients on FAC-BCG (medium 12 months) were longer than remissions achieved for patients given FAC alone (median 8 months) (P = 0.068). The most notable effect of BCG was on survival. Thus 21 out of 34 patients achieving remission on FAC-BCG were alive at the time of the last follow-up examination (median over 22 months) compared with 11 out of 32 patients achieving remission on FAC (median 15 months) (P = 0.01). Twenty-six of the 45 patients given FAC-BCG were alive at the time of the last follow-up examination (median over 22 months) compared with 12 of the 44 patients given FAC (median 15 months) (P = 0.005). Although the apparent benefit of BCG could be explained by a maldistribution of some prognostic factors, the data suggest that further trial of chemoimmunotherapy of breast cancer should be carried out.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Aged
Breast Neoplasms drug therapy
Breast Neoplasms mortality
Clinical Trials as Topic
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Neoplasm Metastasis
Remission, Spontaneous
Time Factors
BCG Vaccine therapeutic use
Breast Neoplasms therapy
Cyclophosphamide therapeutic use
Doxorubicin therapeutic use
Fluorouracil therapeutic use
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0007-1447
- Volume :
- 2
- Issue :
- 6046
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- British medical journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 791447
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.6046.1222