Adjuvant therapy with capecitabine alone or in combination with vinorelbine after dose-dense epirubicin and paclitaxel – A phase I/II study of the AGO study group breast

Aims: Dose-dense sequential ETC-regimen (epirubicin 150mg/m2, paclitaxel 225mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 2500mg/m2 q2wks, each 3x with G-CSF support) as adjuvant therapy in breast cancer patients improves DFS and OAS compared with conventional therapy (Möbus et al. SABCS 2006). The rationale of this study was to substitute cyclophosphamide with the combination of capecitabine and vinorelbine to increase efficacy and reduce toxicity. Patients and methods: 51 patients with stage II/IIIA breast cancer and ≥4 positive axillary lymph nodes were treated initially with dose-dense, sequential epirubicin and paclitaxel q2w…