Adjuvant chemo-hormonal therapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil (CAF) with or without medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) for node-positive cancer patients, update at 12 years follow up

An update with 10 years of follow up of a study adding adjuvant MPA to CAF chemotherapy is presented. A total of 409 patients were entered, of which 200 were randomized to receive 500 mg of MPA i.m. on days 1–28 and twice per week thereafter for 6 months. There was a significant improvement in metastases-free and overall survival in women >60 years of age receiving MPA (P=0.01 and P=0.02 respectively). A detrimental effect of MPA was seen in women <40 years. Possible reasons for these results are discussed.