ORIGINAL REPORTS Breast Cancer Burdens and Benefits of Adjuvant Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, and Fluorouracil and Tamoxifen for Elderly Patients With Breast Cancer: The …

Purpose: Information on the tolerability and efficacy of adjuvant chemoendocrine therapy for older women is limited. We studied these issues using the data collected as part of the International Breast Cancer Study Group Trial VII. Patients and Methods: Postmenopausal women with operable, node-positive breast cancer were randomized to receive either tamoxifen alone for 5 years (306 patients) or tamoxifen plus three consecutive cycles of classical cyclophosphamide (100 mg/m2 orally days 1 to 14), methotrexate (40 mg/m2 intravenous days 1 and 8), and fluorouracil (600 mg/m2 intravenous days 1 and 8) every 28 days (CMF; 302 patients). The median follow-up was 8.0 years. Results: Among the 299 patients who received at least one dose of CMF, women 65 years of age or older (n = 76) had higher grades of toxicity compared with women less than 65 years old (n = 223) (P = .004). More women in the older …