Background: Treating patients with anthracycline- and
taxane-pretreated metastatic breast cancer is challenging.
This study evaluated the activity and safety of a combination
of cisplatin and capecitabine in this setting. Patients
and Methods: Thirty-nine consecutive patients
entered the study. All had experienced failures or relapse
after previous treatment with anthracyclines and taxanes
plus/minus other chemotherapeutic regimens. The
present treatment consisted of intravenous cisplatin
20 mg/m 2 every week for 6 weeks, followed by 1 week of
rest, and oral capecitabine 1,000 mg/m 2 twice daily for
14 days, followed by a 7-day rest period. Results: Objective
response was obtained in 14 patients (35.9%), with
complete remission in 3 (7.7%). Median time to progression
was 5.2 months and survival was 10.9 months in the
entire population and 8.7 and 16.5 months in the responding
patients, respectively. The dose-limiting toxicity
for the regimen was leucopenia, while gastrointesti-nal discomfort was the most frequent cause of
capecitabine reduction or delay. Conclusions: The cisplatin
and capecitabine combination regimen is active
and manageable. It seems to be non-cross resistant to
anthracyclines and taxanes.
