Anthracyclines and the Tailoring of Treatment for Early Breast Cancer

Adjuvant chemotherapy and hormonal treatment have substantially reduced the risks of relapse and death that threaten a woman for many years after the diagnosis of breast cancer.1 Progress in breast-cancer treatment is due in part to the incorporation of powerful cytotoxic agents into chemotherapy regimens and to the optimization of the schedules of administration of these agents. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy combinations, such as the cyclophosphamide–epirubicin–fluorouracil (CEF) regimen evaluated in the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group Mammary.5 (MA.5) study,2 when compared with the regimen of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF), produce on average a further relative reduction in deaths . . .