The results of modified use of chemotherapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

We investigated whether modifying standard chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (FAC) could improve the outcome of patients with advanced breast carcinoma. We changed the conventional FAC treatment as follows: firstly, we administered oestrogens during the delivery of chemotherapy. Secondly, we administered 5-fluorouracil by continuous infusion. Thirdly, we limited chemotherapy treatment to 12 cycles and did not continue treatment during remissions. We evaluated this modified treatment in 63 patients and compared its results to other treatments results given at this institution. We found that the modified treatment improved the quality of life and survival of premenopausal breast cancer patients.