21-day oral etoposide for metastatic breast cancer: a phase II study and review of the literature.

Previous studies of etoposide for metastatic breast cancer commonly used bolus regimens given over a short period of time and included heavily pretreated patients. Results were poor. Chronic oral regimens would be expected to be superior to bolus doses based on pharmacologic studies and patients with less previous chemotherapy would be expected to have higher response rates. We studied the efficacy of oral etoposide at a dose of 50 mg/m2/day for 21 days of a 28-day cycle in good-risk patients with metastatic breast cancer. Healthy patients (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0, 1, or 2) who had not received chemotherapy for at least 1 year before study entry were selected for therapy. Thirty-four patients were entered; three patients were ineligible and one was cancelled. Thirty patients were available for analysis of response. One complete response and eight partial responses were documented (response rate, 30%; 95% confidence interval, 15-49%). A higher response rate was observed in those patients who never received chemotherapy compared with those who had received prior chemotherapy (57 vs. 6%, p = 0.004). There were two treatment-related deaths, both owing to myelosuppression and infection. We found long-term administration of oral etoposide to have a reasonable response rate for metastatic breast cancer (30%). Our response rate was comparable to those of other published studies of long-term oral etoposide regimens for metastatic breast cancer. Response rates in single-arm studies have generally been higher for long-term oral regimens than those for bolus regimens. We also found the regimen to be significantly toxic, an observation that may be underemphasized in the earlier literature.

Locoregional failure 10 years after mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy with or without tamoxifen without irradiation: experience of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

PURPOSE: To assess patterns of failure and how selected prognostic and treatment factors affect the risks of locoregional failure (LRF) after mastectomy in breast cancer patients with histologically involved axillary nodes treated with chemotherapy with or without tamoxifen without irradiation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 2,016 patients entered onto four randomized trials conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. The median follow-up time for patients without recurrence was 12.1 years (range, 0.07 to 19.1 years). RESULTS: A total of 1,099 patients (55%) experienced disease recurrence. The first sites of failure were as follows: isolated LRF, 254 (13%); LRF with simultaneous distant failure (DF), 166 (8%); and distant only, 679 (34%). The risk of LRF with or without simultaneous DF at 10 years was 12.9% in patients with one to three positive nodes and 28.7% for patients with four or more positive nodes. Multivariate analysis showed that increasing tumor size, increasing numbers of involved nodes, negative estrogen receptor protein status, and decreasing number of nodes examined were significant for increasing the rate of LRF with or without simultaneous DF. CONCLUSION: LRF after mastectomy is a substantial clinical problem, despite the use of chemotherapy with or without tamoxifen. Prospective randomized trials will be necessary to estimate accurately the potential disease-free and overall survival benefits of postmastectomy radiotherapy for patients in particular prognostic subgroups treated with presently used and future systemic therapy regimens.

Survival advantage of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk node-negative breast cancer: ten-year analysis--an intergroup study.

PURPOSE: Preliminary analysis showed that adjuvant chemotherapy is effective in improving disease-free survival (DFS) among high-risk breast cancer patients. This report updates the analysis of the high-risk group and reports the results of the low-risk group. METHODS: Patients who had undergone a modified radical mastectomy or a total mastectomy with low-axillary sampling, with negative axillary nodes and either an estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) tumor of any size or an estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) tumor that measured > or = 3 cm (high-risk) were randomized to receive six cycles of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil, and prednisone (CMFP) or no further treatment. Patients with ER+ tumors less than 3 cm (low-risk) were monitored without therapy. RESULTS: DFS and overall survival (OS) at 10 years were 73% and 81%, respectively, among patients who received chemotherapy, as compared with 58% and 71% in the observation group (P=.0006 for DFS and P=.02 for OS). Chemotherapy was beneficial for patients with large tumors, both ER+ and ER-, showing a 10-year DFS of 70% versus 51 % (P=.0009) and OS of 75% versus 65% (P=.06). Ten-year survival was 77% among low-risk patients, 85% among premenopausal patients, and 73% in the postmenopausal group. CONCLUSION: The observed 37% reduction in risk of recurrence and 34% reduction in mortality risk at 10 years, associated with a 15.4% absolute benefit in disease-free state and 10.1% in survival, reaffirm the role of adjuvant chemohormonal therapy in the management of high-risk node-negative breast cancer. Tumor size remains a significant prognostic factor associated with recurrence and survival in the low-risk group.

Combined chemoradiotherapy vs. radiotherapy alone for early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus: a study of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

Squamous carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus has an extremely poor prognosis. This study, EST-1282, was undertaken by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) to determine whether the combined use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), mitomycin C, and radiation therapy improved the disease-free survival and overall survival of patients with carcinoma of the esophagus, compared to those who received radiation therapy alone. Two- and 5-year survivals were 12% and 7% in the radiation alone arm and 27% and 9% in the chemoradiation arm. Patients treated with chemoradiation had a longer median survival (14.8 months), compared to patients receiving radiation therapy alone (9.2 months). This difference was statistically significant. The same pattern of survival was noted in almost all subgroups independent of whether surgical resection was performed.

Induction chemotherapy of dibromodulcitol, Adriamycin, vincristine, tamoxifen, and Halotestin with methotrexate in metastatic breast cancer: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Study (E1181).

Patients who have metastatic breast cancer are seldom curable. Chemotherapy given by conventional doses and schedules generally produces complete remissions in 10% to 20% of patients. This study sought to determine 1) whether a combination of dibromodulcitol, Adriamycin, vincristine, tamoxifen, Halotestin, and methotrexate with leucovorin rescue (DAVTHML) can produce a complete remission rate of 50%; and 2) the toxicity of this combination in patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic breast cancer. Patients were treated with six 28-day cycles of DAVTHML induction chemotherapy consisting of dibromodulcitol, 135 mg/m2 perorally days 1 to 10; Adriamycin 45 mg/m2 intravenously day 1; vincristine, 2 mg intravenously day 1; tamoxifen and Halotestin, 20 mg perorally daily; methotrexate, 800 mg/m2 intravenously days 15 and 22; and leucovorin, 15 mg/m2 perorally every 6 hours for 9 doses, starting 4 hours after methotrexate. After induction, patients who had stable disease or a partial response were treated with a cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil-based regimen (CMF). Patients in complete remission were treated with three additional cycles of DAVTHML after achieving complete remission and then observed off therapy until relapse, when DAVTHML was to be given again. Fifty-eight patients were included in this study. During induction, 26% of eligible patients experienced a complete remission; overall response rate was 80%. The median time to treatment failure and the median survival time of eligible patients was 11.1 and 24.0 months, respectively. This did not change significantly when all the patients were included in the evaluation. The 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 37% and 11%, respectively. Ninety percent of the eligible patients experienced grade III or IV toxicity. They were leukopenia (75%), anemia (20%), thrombocytopenia (20%), and vomiting (17%). No lethal toxicity was documented during therapy; however, 1 patient later died of myelodysplastic syndrome induced by dibromodulcitol. The overall response and complete remission rates from our study were encouraging. The toxicity of DAVTHML was tolerable, with the exception of myelodysplastic syndrome from dibromodulcitol. The concept of using mid-cycle nonmyelosuppressant agents to increase complete remission rate is feasible.

The role of radiotherapy in the management of operable locally advanced breast carcinoma: results of a randomized trial by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to test the role of radiotherapy following total mastectomy, axillary dissection, and adjuvant systemic therapy in the management of operable locally advanced breast carcinoma. METHODS: After undergoing mastectomy and axillary dissection, 426 patients with locally advanced breast carcinoma were registered on study and stratified by patient characteristics and risk factors. All patients were then treated with six courses of chemohormonotherapy. After being restaged, the 332 patients remaining without recurrence were randomized to receive prophylactic radiotherapy or to undergo observation and receive radiotherapy only if and when there was locoregional recurrence. RESULTS: Three hundred twelve of 332 randomized patients were deemed eligible and analyzed for both time to relapse and survival. The median follow-up period was 9.1 years. There were no significant differences in time to relapse and overall survival between the two treatment arms. Of those assigned to radiation, 60% relapsed, with a median time to relapse of 4.7 years, and 46% were alive at last follow-up, with a median survival of 8.3 years. Of those assigned to observation, 56% relapsed, with a median time to relapse of 5.2 years, and 47% were alive at last follow-up, with a median survival of 8.1 years. The two treatment arms had significantly different patterns of sites of first recurrence. There were 9% fewer locoregional first recurrences among those assigned to radiation than among those assigned to observation (15% vs. 24%), whereas there were 15% more first relapses at distant sites (50% vs. 35%) among those assigned to radiation (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Radiotherapy for locally advanced breast carcinoma, following mastectomy, axillary dissection, and adjuvant systemic therapy, results in fewer locoregional but more distant recurrences at first relapse. No significant advantage was seen for consolidation radiotherapy over observation in terms of either time to relapse or survival, both of which were virtually identical in the two treatment arms. [See editorial counterpoint on pages 1061-6 and reply to counterpoint on pages 1067-8, this issue.]

Postchemotherapy adjuvant tamoxifen therapy beyond five years in patients with lymph node-positive breast cancer. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group.

BACKGROUND: Data from a pilot study published in 1984 suggested that tamoxifen administration (as adjuvant hormonal therapy) for more than 5 years after initial breast cancer surgery might have therapeutic benefit. PURPOSE: A randomized trial was performed to assess the efficacy of maintaining tamoxifen therapy beyond 5 years in women with axillary lymph node-positive breast cancer who had been treated with surgery followed by 1 year of chemotherapy and 5 years of tamoxifen. METHODS: One hundred ninety-four women (87 postmenopausal and 107 premenopasual) enrolled in two concurrent Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group adjuvant trials (E4181 for postmenopausal patients and E5181 for premenopausal patients) were randomly assigned to continued tamoxifen therapy or observation. Data for 193 women (87 postmenopausal and 106 premenopausal) were available for analysis. Median follow-up is 5.6 years since the randomization at 5 years, with the longest follow-up being 8.0 years. The major analyses measured events from the time of randomization until relapse or death; these included time-to-relapse analyses, with new opposite-breast cancers counted as treatment failures, and survival analyses. Time-to-relapse comparisons and survival comparisons for women in the two treatment groups were made by use of the Kaplan-Meier method and the logrank test. Reported P values are two-sided. RESULTS: Five years after the randomization, no statistically significant differences were noted in either time to relapse or survival between women continuing to receive tamoxifen and those on observation. Eight-five percent of the women receiving tamoxifen were disease free at this time compared with 73% of those on observation (P = .10); survival was 86% for those continuing to receive tamoxifen and 89% for those on observation (P = .52). Differences in the time to relapse and survival between premenopausal and postmenopausal women assigned to the two treatment groups were also not statistically significant (time to relapse: P = .38 and P = .16 for premenopausal and postmenopausal patients, respectively; survival; P = .18 and P = .72 for premenopausal and postmenopausal patients, respectively). There was an indication that women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors may experience a longer time to relapse with continued tamoxifen therapy (P = .014); however, the survival difference for this subgroup was not statistically significant (P = .81). The toxicity patterns in the two treatment groups were similar. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our results suggest that further evaluation of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy beyond 5 years in women with axillary lymph node-positive, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer who have also been treated with adjuvant chemotherapy would be appropriate.

Annual hazard rates of recurrence for breast cancer after primary therapy.

PURPOSE: To determine if the long-term increase of recurrence for breast cancer is stable or slowly decreasing, or if it ever reaches zero; and to determine the effect of prognostic factors on the hazard of recurrence. METHODS: All patients entered onto the seven completed and unblinded Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) coordinated studies of postoperative adjuvant therapy for breast cancer were analyzed in terms of annual hazard of recurrence of breast cancer. RESULTS: For the entire group, the peak hazard of recurrence occurred in the interval of 1 to 2 years. The hazard decreased consistently in the interval of 2 to 5 years. Beyond 5 years, the hazard of recurrence decreased very, very slowly through year 12. The average hazard of recurrence between years 5 and 12 for the entire population was 4.3% per year. The pattern of a peak hazard of recurrence during the first 5 years with a slowly decreasing hazard of recurrence beyond 5 years was also observed to varying degrees in most subsets. Higher risk subsets such as patients with more than three nodes positive had a higher hazard of recurrence at all time intervals, while lower risk subsets such as patients with negative nodes had a lower hazard of recurrence in all time periods. CONCLUSION: Patients 5 years postsurgery for breast cancer appear to have a very slowly decreasing hazard of recurrence. The mean hazard of recurrence between years 5 to 12 postsurgery is 4.3% per year. This group of patients may be well suited for trials evaluating cytostatic drugs or differentiating agents.

Phase III study of bolus versus infusion fluorouracil with or without cisplatin in advanced colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Phase II studies of fluorouracil (5-FU) administered by protracted intravenous infusion have suggested an improved response rate and decreased toxicity profile when compared with 5-FU given by bolus injection in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Additional studies have suggested further enhancement of infusion 5-FU activity when it is combined with low-dose weekly cisplatin administration. PURPOSE: This phase III study in adults with metastatic colorectal cancer was planned as a comparison of objective response rates, toxicity, and survival in patients receiving bolus versus protracted-infusion 5-FU with or without cisplatin. METHODS: Four hundred ninety-seven previously untreated patients with advanced, measurable metastatic colorectal cancer were randomly assigned to receive treatment A (bolus 5-FU at 500 mg/m2 for 5 days followed in 2 weeks by weekly bolus 5-FU at 600 mg/m2), treatment B (bolus 5-FU at 500 mg/m2 for 5 days followed in 2 weeks by weekly bolus 5-FU at 600 mg/m2, plus weekly cisplatin at 20 mg/m2), treatment C (5-FU at 300 mg/m2 per day by continuous infusion), or treatment D (5-FU at 300 mg/m2 per day by continuous infusion plus weekly cisplatin at 20 mg/m2). All drugs were administered intravenously. Enrollment in the trial occurred from August 1987 through December 1990, and follow-up was through September 1995. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall and disease-free survival, and Cox regression models were used to assess the effects of patient characteristics on survival. All P values resulted from two-sided tests. RESULTS: Objective tumor response was observed in 28 (18%) of 153 patients receiving treatment A, in 45 (28%) of 159 patients receiving treatment C (C versus A; P = .045), and in 47 (31%) of 153 patients receiving treatment D (D versus A; P = .016). Because of excessive toxicity, treatment B was discontinued after only 12 patients had begun treatment. Median time to disease progression was 5.1 months for patients in arm A compared with 6.2 and 6.5 months for patients in arms C and D, respectively (C versus A, P = .007; D versus A, P = .017). Patterns of toxic effects differed substantially among the treatment arms. Forty-five percent of the patients receiving bolus 5-FU alone (A) experienced grade 3-4 leukopenia, with two sepsis-related deaths. Hand-foot syndrome and mucositis were the major treatment-limiting toxic effects for patients in the two treatment arms involving infusion. Despite the improvement in response rates and time to disease progression with infusion 5-FU with or without cisplatin (C and D, respectively) (P = .003), the overall survival for the three groups (A, C, and D) was similar (P = .307). This may have been due in part to a longer median survival time of 10.4 months for patients in arm A, compared with an anticipated survival of 7 months. CONCLUSION: 5-FU given as a continuous infusion produced a higher objective response rate, a modest prolongation in time to disease progression, and less life-threatening myelosuppression in patients than bolus 5-FU. Concomitant treatment with low-dose cisplatin caused added toxicity and complexity of treatment and did not provide a major clinical benefit. No statistically significant survival differences were observed among the three treatment groups.

A randomized trial of megestrol acetate with or without premarin in the treatment of potentially responsive metastatic breast cancer. A Study of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (E2185).

BACKGROUND: Human breast cancer cells in vitro exhibit increased levels of progestin receptors (PgR) after brief exposure to physiologic concentrations of estrogens. Prior clinical studies have positively correlated the responsiveness of metastatic breast cancer to progestin therapy with the level of PgR in the tumor cells. METHODS: These observations were used as the scientific basis for a randomized clinical trial by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) to compare the effectiveness of megestrol acetate (MEG) alone in a daily dose of 160 mg with MEG alternated with premarin in a dose of 1.25 mg/day on the first 3 days of a 14 day cycle (PRE/MEG). From 1985 through 1989, 266 eligible and fully evaluable patients were randomized to 1 of the treatment arms and accrued to this trial. All patients were postmenopausal with biochemical estrogen cytosol protein receptor (ER) positive (> or = 10 fm/mg) tumors. The treatment groups were balanced with respect to performance status, number of involved organ systems, and PgR levels. RESULTS: Forty-five of 135 (33%) (95% confidence interval [CI], 25-42%) patients receiving MEG experienced a partial (PR) or complete (CR) response. Thirty-one of 131 (23%) (95% CI, 17-32%) patients receiving PRE/MEG achieved a PR or CR. Survival was not influenced by treatment selection. However, median time to progression was seven months for patients receiving MEG and four months for the group receiving PRE/MEG (P = 0.03). The treatment failure hazard rate was higher for patients with a short disease free interval after primary treatment of the breast cancer, poor performance status, non-white race, and visceral disease. Survival was negatively impacted by short disease free interval, administration of prior radiation therapy, prior treatment for metastatic disease, and hepatic involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Sequential treatment with premarin and megestrol acetate is not superior to treatment with megace alone in potentially hormone responsive patients with advanced breast cancer.

Intergroup study of fluorouracil plus levamisole as adjuvant therapy for stage II/Dukes' B2 colon cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the effectiveness of fluorouracil plus levamisole administered postoperatively to patients with resected stage II (Dukes' B2) colon cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial (INT-0035) was performed by National Cancer Institute-sponsored cancer clinical trials cooperative groups. Patients were assigned to observation only or to fluorouracil (450 mg/m2 intravenously [IV] daily for 5 days and, beginning at 28 days, weekly for 48 weeks) plus levamisole (50 mg orally three times daily for 3 days repeated every 2 weeks for 1 year). Cancer recurrence, survival, and treatment side effects were assessed. RESULTS: Three hundred eighteen eligible patients were analyzed with a median follow-up time of 7 years. Fluorouracil plus levamisole reduced the recurrence rate by 31%, although this trend was not statistically significant (P = .10). A total of 87 patients died: 43 on observation and 44 on fluorouracil plus levamisole. Disparity between effects on recurrence rate and overall survival is partially explained by a higher rate of non-colon cancer-related deaths on fluorouracil plus levamisole (15 v seven) and by the effects of salvage surgery with curative intent. Of seven patients with recurrence who were rendered disease-free by salvage surgery, six were on the observation arm. As was observed in patients treated with fluorouracil plus levamisole for stage III disease, toxicity was acceptable and compliance was excellent. CONCLUSION: Fluorouracil plus levamisole is tolerable and accepted as standard surgical adjuvant therapy for patients with stage III colon cancer, but the data from this study in stage II patients suggest a decreased relapse rate without a significant improvement in survival.

Phase III study comparing vincristine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and dexamethasone (VAD) chemotherapy with VAD plus recombinant interferon alfa-2 in refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma. An Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group study.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial was designed to compare the effectiveness of vincristine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and dexamethasone (VAD) with VAD plus interferon alfa-2 in patients with refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1990 and May 1992, 47 eligible patients with multiple myeloma who had failed one prior chemotherapeutic regimen were accrued to a multiinstitutional prospective randomized clinical trial. The trial was halted early because of poor accrual. RESULTS: After a minimum follow-up of 13 months, the objective overall response rate was 28% (25% in the VAD group, 30% in the VAD plus interferon group). The response duration and overall survival were similar for the two treatment groups, with medians of 3.6 and 8.3 months, respectively. Life-threatening or lethal nonhematologic toxicity was seen in 27%. Interferon did not appear to increase the frequency of toxic responses. CONCLUSION: This study shows no advantage to the use of interferon combined with VAD in refractory or relapsing myeloma. However, the small sample size decreased the statistical power to recognize small differences if present. Moreover, the survival data do not suggest a clear advantage to the administration of vincristine or doxorubicin as a 96-hour infusion compared with results of studies using bolus administration combined with high-dose corticosteroids.

Ten-year follow-up study of premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the long-term survival of premenopausal women with previously untreated first recurrence or metastases of breast cancer entered on Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) study 2177 (EST 2177), which completed accrual in June 1983. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-seven premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer were entered onto the study. Eighty-nine patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and ER-unknown disease were randomized to receive cyclophosphamide (CTX), doxorubicin (ADR), and fluorouracil (FU) (CAF) or surgical oophorectomy plus CAF (O+CAF). Fifty-eight patients with known ER-negative disease were treated with CAF. Survival time was measured from the time of study entry. Randomization was stratified by performance status (PS), dominant metastatic site, and ER status. RESULTS: One hundred thirty patients were eligible. The median survival time of randomized patients was 35 months (90% confidence interval, 28.9 to 54.3), with 28% alive at 5 years. The overall median survival duration, including ER-negative patients, was 30 months. There was no significant difference in survival time between the randomized treatments (median, 42 months for O+CAF and 30 months for CAF). In models of survival time, age > or = 45 years and last menstruation within 1 month were associated with significantly longer survival (P < .004 for each). There were also three significant interactions with treatment (even after correction for multiple comparisons): age (P = .00009; O+CAF associated with longer survival in patients < 45 years, CAF associated with longer survival in patients > 45 years), PS (P = .002; O+CAF associated with consistently better survival in PS O patients), and disease-free interval (DFI). CONCLUSION: Long-term follow-up data of premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer show a longer than expected median survival time at 2.5 years overall and close to 5 years for patients treated with O+CAF who were ER-positive or had a good PS.

Fluorouracil plus levamisole as effective adjuvant therapy after resection of stage III colon carcinoma: a final report.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of two adjuvant therapy regimens in improving surgical cure rates in stage III (Dukes stage C) colon cancer. DESIGN: Randomized, concurrently controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Major cancer centers, universities, and community clinics affiliated with the North Cancer Treatment Group, the Southwest Oncology Group, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. PATIENTS: Those who had had curative-intent resections of stage III colon cancer in the previous 1 to 5 weeks. INTERVENTION: Patients were assigned to observation only, to levamisole alone (50 mg orally three times/d for 3 days, repeated every 2 weeks for 1 year), or to this regimen of levamisole plus fluorouracil (450 mg/m2 body surface area intravenously daily for 5 days and then, beginning at 28 days, weekly for 48 weeks). MEASUREMENTS: Rates of cancer recurrence and death. Early- and late-treatment side effects. RESULTS: With all 929 eligible patients able to be followed for 5 years or more (median follow-up, 6.5 years), fluorouracil plus levamisole reduced the recurrence rate by 40% (P < 0.0001) and the death rate by 33% (P = 0.0007). Levamisole reduced the recurrence rate by only 2% and the death rate by only 6%. With few exceptions, toxicity was mild and patient compliance was excellent. No evidence of late side effects was seen. CONCLUSION: Fluorouracil plus levamisole is tolerable adjuvant therapy to surgery; it has been confirmed to substantially increase cure rates for patients with high-risk (stage III) colon cancer. It should be considered standard treatment for all such patients not entered into clinical trials.

A phase II study of interleukin-2 with and without beta-interferon in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Biologic response modifiers have activity in renal cell carcinoma. The combination of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and beta-interferon (B-IFN) is synergistic in vitro. This trial was initiated to determine the efficacy of IL-2 alone and with B-IFN in advanced RCC. METHODS: Ambulatory patients with advanced RCC were randomly allocated to either IL-2 6 x 10(6) units/M2 intravenously (IV) three days a week for four weeks or IL-2 5 x 10(6) units/M2 IV plus B-IFN 6 x 10(6) units/M2 IV three days a week for 4 weeks. This induction phase was followed by a maintenance phase of the same drugs and doses administered for two weeks out of every four. RESULTS: 84 patients were entered onto this phase II trial with 75 considered eligible for response and survival. Toxicity is reported for the 81 patients on whom data was received, irrespective of eligibility. The overall response rate (RR) was 9.3% (7/75). Of the 3 responses in the IL-2 arm (RR = 8.3%), one was a complete response. 4 patients in the IL-2 + B-IFN arm (RR = 10.3%) achieved a partial response. Median survival was estimated to be 8.4 months for patients given IL-2 and 8.0 months for patients given the IL-2 and B-IFN combination. Multivariate analysis of survival data identified initial performance status, metastases of > 1 site, and weight loss as being important prognostic factors for survival. There were 2 lethal and 3 life threatening toxicities with the IL-2 treatment. While there were no lethal toxicities on the combination arm, there were 4 life threatening toxicities. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that further investigation of IL-2 with or without B-IFN at this dose and schedule as treatments for renal cell carcinoma is probably not warranted.

Hormonal treatment for metastatic breast cancer. An Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Phase III trial comparing aminoglutethimide to tamoxifen.

BACKGROUND: Tamoxifen and aminoglutethimide are two hormone therapies reported to be effective palliative approaches for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The current trial was designed to evaluate their relative therapeutic effectiveness. METHODS: Two hundred forty-nine postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer were randomized in an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Phase III study to treatment with adrenalectomy, aminoglutethimide, or tamoxifen with crossover to alternate therapy if disease progressed. Adrenalectomy was dropped as a treatment after 2 years because of low patient accrual. RESULTS: There were 216 evaluable patients entered in the study with 108 initially randomized to aminoglutethimide and 108 to receive tamoxifen therapy. The overall response rate for aminoglutethimide was 45%, and for tamoxifen it was 27%. One institution had a response rate of 60% with aminoglutethimide and only 4% with tamoxifen, whereas all of the other institutions combined had a response rate of 41% with aminoglutethimide and 34% with tamoxifen. Eighty-seven evaluable patients crossed over to the other drug (44 to aminoglutethimide and 43 to tamoxifen). There was a 36% response rate to aminoglutethimide and 19% to tamoxifen, with stable disease in 36% of both groups. The overall survival rates were identical. Toxicity was greater with aminoglutethimide (dermatitis) but was not life-threatening. Glucocorticoid support with either dexamethasone or hydrocortisone was acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: Both aminoglutethimide and tamoxifen produced responses in postmenopausal patients with breast cancer, and a significant number of crossover responses were observed. Of interest in this randomized study was the observation that one institution had a markedly different response rate on induction, reinforcing the need for multi-institution trials in Phase III studies.

Tumor necrosis is a prognostic predictor for early recurrence and death in lymph node-positive breast cancer: a 10-year follow-up study of 728 Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group patients.

PURPOSE: The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) entered 766 patients onto two prospectively randomized surgical adjuvant clinical trials for lymph node-positive breast cancer (T1-3N1M0). Ninety-five percent (n = 728) of eligible patients have complete information on the prognostic covariables under study (tumor necrosis [TN], tumor size, number of positive lymph nodes, age) and a median follow-up duration of 10.3 years. METHODS: TN was defined as confluent cell death in invasive areas of primary cancers, visible at 4 x objective lens magnification. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate presence versus absence of TN effects on clinical outcomes over full cross-stratification of variables, including delivery of chemotherapy versus observation only. Time-varying effects were modeled using spline functions of time, and by fixing proportional hazards models separately in the time periods 0 to 2 and 2+ years. RESULTS: Presence of TN was an independent predictor for time to recurrence (TTR) (P = .007) and for survival (P = .0003) in the overall 10-year follow-up period. Presence of TN was also an independent predictor for TTR and for survival (each P < .0001) in the period 0 to 2 years after diagnosis. Spline function time-modeling calculations showed different hazard ratios in the TN-present (TN+) versus TN-absent (TN-) groups for both TTR and survival (each P < .0001). This difference is changing over time (P = .0001 for TTR, P = .0005 for survival). Once a patient has been disease-free beyond 2 years after diagnosis, presence or absence of TN is irrelevant to future prognosis. CONCLUSION: Confluent TN of any dimension in invasive areas of lymph node-positive breast cancer is an independent predictor for early recurrence and death from the disease.

High DNA content and prognosis in lymph node positive breast cancer. A case control study by the University of Leiden and ECOG. (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group).

To investigate whether breast cancer cells with unusually high nuclear DNA content are associated with an adverse outcome, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group investigators selected breast cancer trial patients who suffered an early death (ED) within two years after diagnosis to compare with other trial patients who had a survival of at least 7.5 years. Paraffin blocks of primary breast cancers were obtained from 93 evaluable patients who had been enrolled in two surgical adjuvant trials for lymph node positive (LN+) disease (T1-3N1M0). Single cell monolayer preparations from these blocks were stained with acriflavine-Feulgen and analyzed by image analysis for DNA content with the automated Leiden Television Analysis System (LEY-TAS). Standard prognostic variables (estrogen receptor (ER) status, number of lymph nodes with metastases, and size of the cancer) were compared with three DNA content characteristics: DNA ploidy status, number of nuclei with > 5C DNA content, and percent of nuclei with > 5 C. Estimates of the odds ratio in multivariate comparisons showed that ER negativity was associated with ED (p = 0.0005) and an odds ratio estimate using negative/positive of 4.87. The number of positive lymph nodes associated with ED had a p-value of 0.0005 and an odds ratio estimate of 4.63 when comparing the > 3 nodes group to the 1-3 nodes group. In contrast, the strongest association for any of the DNA content characteristics with ED had a p-value of 0.017 and an odds ratio estimate of 2.76. This power of association disappeared when stratified on ER status.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)