Vinorelbine Plus Capecitabine in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer Pretreated with Anthracyclines and/or Taxanes: The Clinical Experience at Mansoura University (Egypt)

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the com-bination of vinorelbine and capecitabine in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients previously treated with anthracyclines and/or taxanes containing regimens.Patients and Methods: Between January 2009 to end of December 2010, 29 female MBC patients received a 3-week cycle combining intravenous vinorelbine (25mg/m² on days 1 and 8) and oral capecitabine (1,250mg/m² twice daily for 14 days). Treatment continued until progression or unaccept-able toxicity.Results: The median age was 56 years (range: 32-70). Almost all patients were treated with anthracyclines and 17 patients (58.6%) had prior treatment with taxanes. The overall response rate was 51.7% (95% CI, 30-65%), including one complete response (3.4%) and 14 patients (48.3%) had partial response. The median progression-free survival was 8 months (95% CI, 3.60-12.40), and median overall survival being 18.5 months (95% CI, 13.31-23.69). The main toxicity was neu-tropenia, which was observed at NCI-CTC grades III and IV in 7 (24.1%) and 2 (6.8%) patients, respectively. Grade II hand-foot syndrome occurred in 2 patients (6.8%). Other non-hematological toxicities were minimal and manageable.Conclusion: The combination of vinorelbine and capecit-abine was effective and well tolerated in MBC patients even after treatment with anthracyclines and/or taxanes.