Cisplatin plus vinorelbine (PVn) as a salvage regimen for refractory breast cancer

Breast cancer is regarded as a systemic disease even when tumors are completely resected. In patients with advanced breast cancer the overall prognosis is poor, but the disease is not uniformly fatal. Vinorelbine has proved to be effective when given as a single agent in this setting. Since it has a moderate to severe myelotoxic effect, a combination of vinorelbine with cisplatin, which is a weak myelotoxic drug, is ideal for the treatment of patients with advanced disease. In this paper, we report on a patient with advanced breast cancer who attained complete response of 14 months duration to a cisplatin/vinorelbine combination after progression during treatment with paclitaxel and doxorubicin.