Chemo Plus Tamoxifen More Effective

Adding anthracycline-based combination chemotherapy to treatment withtamoxifen (Zeneca's Nolvadex) is more effective than giving the antiestrogen alone in the treatment of older women with breast cancer, according to Kathy Albain of Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois, USA.

Four-year, disease-free survival rates were higher in the group receiving tamoxifen and chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil) than in the group on tamoxifen alone (79% versus 72%). Serious side effects were rare in both groups, and the addition of anthracycline-based chemotherapy did not increase the women's chance of developing endometrial cancer.

"Until now, we believed that older patients would fail to tolerate anthracycline-based chemotherapy because of the potential side effects," said Dr Albain.