Adjuvant therapy of stage II breast cancer: 48-month follow-up of a prospective randomized clinical trial

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1981;1(1):77-82. doi: 10.1007/BF01807895.

Abstract

A prospective, randomized clinical trial of adjuvant treatment of 318 stage II breast cancer patients, using chemotherapy, the antiestrogen tamoxifen, and immunotherapy is reported at 48 months follow-up. Women whose primary tumors have no estrogen receptors fall into a significantly poorer prognostic group than those whose tumors contain estrogen receptors. None of the adjuvant regimens appeared to offer any clear-cut advantage for the estrogen receptor negative patients. Those women whose primary tumor contains estrogen receptors appear to be in a prognostically favorable group, when their treatment regimen included the antiestrogen, tamoxifen. The adjuvant use of BCG immunotherapy does not appear to offer additional benefit, but the follow-up period of these treated patients is too brief to be conclusive. A longer period of observation is needed to determine whether this systemic treatment in estrogen receptor positive patients is preventing recurrence or merely delaying it.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • BCG Vaccine / therapeutic use*
  • Breast Neoplasms / mortality
  • Breast Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Mastectomy
  • Menopause
  • Prospective Studies
  • Random Allocation
  • Receptors, Estrogen / metabolism*
  • Tamoxifen / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • BCG Vaccine
  • Receptors, Estrogen
  • Tamoxifen