Cisplatin plus vinorelbine (PVn) as a palliative regimen beyond second line for advanced breast cancer - A single institute experience

Objectives: The combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine has been proved to be effective and safe in the therapy of advanced breast cancer. We reported the experience of treating advanced breast cancer with combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine (PVn) as second line palliative regimen in Hualien Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital. Study design: Retrospectively, we analyzed thirty patients who underwent the regimen of PVn between Oct. 2002 and Sep. 2008. Patients received cisplatin (75mg/m2) on day 1 and vinorelbine (25mg/m2) on day 1 and 8 by intravenous infusion in every three weeks. Treatment was repeated for up to six cycles. The effectiveness and complications of the regimen were analyzed. Results: Among 30 patients, there were 21 patients with objective responses (70%), including 4 complete responses (13.3%) and 17 partial responses (56.7%). Time to progression was 7.79 months, and overall survival was 13.2 months. Grade 3 or 4 neutropenia was observed in 15 patients (63.3%), and neutropenic fever developed in 11 patients (36.7%). There was no treatment-related mortality. Conclusion: The combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine is effective and with modest toxicity as a palliative regimen in advanced breast cancer.