Therapy of isolated locoregional recurrent carcinoma of the breast.

PURPOSE: There is widespread consent that isolated locoregional recurrence (ILRR) in breast cancer should be treated surgically. On searching literature and guidelines most studies include ipsilateral recurrence in breast tissue or on thoracic wall post-mastectomy, recurrence in scar tissue as well as in ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes. Some studies discuss metachronous contralateral breast cancer as ILRR. About 10-35% of women with primary breast cancer suffer from ILRR. The existing data concerning the role of systemic therapy in the treatment of ILRR are insufficient. We investigated the influence of chemotherapy on disease-free- (DFS) and overall-survival (OS). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all patients with ILRR and without distant metastasis was done, which were treated at the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, Saarland University between 2005 and 2013. Data collection used patients' database system and was followed via patient questionnaires. RESULTS: In total, we collected data of 93 patients with locally recurrent breast cancer and observed a 72.6% questionnaire response rate. Average timeline accounted for 99 months between primary diagnosis and local recurrence; average age of patients at diagnosis of local recurrence was 60.6 years. After a median follow-up of 63 months DFS reached 76% with and 73% without chemotherapy, and after 74 months overall survival amounted to 94% and 70%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Almost all patients with ILRR were operated. Especially patients with hormone receptor-negative recurrent breast cancer seemed to show a benefit having been treated with chemotherapy. Most patients were without recurrence after their particular therapies.

Trastuzumab (herceptin): a retrospective analysis of the effects of long-term application in a series of patients with breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: About 20 % of all mamma carcinomas are HER2 positive. The overexpression of HER2 is considered to be a negative prognostic factor. Trastuzumab is a monoclonal anti-HER2 antibody developed to target HER2 overexpressing tumor cells. So far, there is only little data available on long-term effects of trastuzumab. This is why we analyzed the medical records of our patient collective with respect to tolerability and oncological outcomes of long-term trastuzumab treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our retrospective observational study included all patients of the Saarland University Hospital with breast cancer who received trastuzumab for more than 18 months between 2003 and 2012. We analyzed the medical records with respect to oncological outcome, tolerability and cardiac side effects. RESULTS: A total of n = 15 patients had been treated with trastuzumab for over 18 months with a mean therapy duration of 57.2 months (range 18-119 months). The mean follow-up time was 113.5 months (range 50-240 months). Three of the patients had a treatment interruption for an average of 2.6 months (range 3-5), which was not due to side effects. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was controlled at regular intervals in all of the patients. Upon the beginning of the trastuzumab treatment, the mean LVEF was 68 %. In one patient, the trastuzumab treatment was discontinued after 41 months because of a decrease of the LVEF below normal levels. CONCLUSION: Trastuzumab is well tolerated even during long-term use. Patients with HER2 overexpression and metastases can be treated well with trastuzumab for up to 119 months.

First-line therapy with fludarabine compared with chlorambucil does not result in a major benefit for elderly patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Although chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of elderly patients, subjects older than 65 years are heavily underrepresented in clinical trials. The German CLL study group (GCLLSG) initiated a multicenter phase III trial for CLL patients older than 65 years comparing first-line therapy with fludarabine with chlorambucil. A total of 193 patients with a median age of 70 years were randomized to receive fludarabine (25 mg/m(2) for 5 days intravenously, every 28 days, for 6 courses) or chlorambucil (0.4 mg/kg body weight [BW] with an increase to 0.8 mg/kg, every 15 days, for 12 months). Fludarabine resulted in a significantly higher overall and complete remission rate (72% vs 51%, P = .003; 7% vs 0%, P = .011). Time to treatment failure was significantly shorter in the chlorambucil arm (11 vs 18 months; P = .004), but no difference in progression-free survival time was observed (19 months with fludarabine, 18 months with chlorambucil; P = .7). Moreover, fludarabine did not increase the overall survival time (46 months in the fludarabine vs 64 months in the chlorambucil arm; P = .15). Taken together, the results suggest that in elderly CLL patients the first-line therapy with fludarabine alone does not result in a major clinical benefit compared with chlorambucil. This trial is registered with www.isrctn.org under identifier ISRCTN 36294212.