Why the study?
Does epirubicin bolus injection improve response rate and survival compared to 24-h infusion in women with advanced breast cancer?
Does epirubicin bolus injection improve response rate and survival compared to 24-h infusion in women with advanced breast cancer?
In women with advanced breast cancer, a weekly 20 mg bolus injection of epirubicin is effective and less toxic than higher doses or prolonged infusions.
Supports bolus 20 mg weekly epirubicin over infusion or higher doses in advanced breast cancer; confirms optimized scheduling improves outcomes with less toxicity.
Sixty-two women with advanced breast cancer have been entered into a randomised trial comparing bolus injection with 24-h infusion of epirubicin given as a dose of either 20 mg or 40 mg weekly, of which 57 patients are eligible for analysis. Bolus injection proved significantly more successful than prolonged infusion in response rate, time to first event and survival. No significant differences appeared between the two doses using these measures, however 40 mg weekly was significantly more toxic than 20 mg weekly. Epirubicin given as a weekly 20 mg bolus injection appears both effective and relatively free from toxicity.
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Ebbs et al. (1989) studied this question.
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