Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with fluorouracil, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and BCG vaccine. A follow-up report.
Two hundred twenty-two patients with stage II or III breast cancer following regional therapy were treated with a combination of fluorouracil, doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adrimycin), cyclophosphamide, and BCG vaccine. At 54 months of study (median follow-up, 30 months), the estimated proportions remaining disease-free two and three years after surgery were 83%and 78%, respectively, in the chemotherapy group and 64% and 55%, respectively, in 151 historical control patients. Estimated two- and three-year survival rates were 93% and 89%, respectively, in the chemotherapy group and 84% and 58%, respectively, in the control patients. Congestive heart failure has developed in three patients, possibly related to the use of doxorubicin. Adjuvant chemotherapy with these drugs was effective in prolonging the disease-free interval and survival of patients irrespective of menopausal status, degree of nodal involvement, or stage of the disease.