Adjuvant Anthracyclines in Breast Cancer: What Is Their Role?

Abstract

In patients with early breast cancer, the choice of adjuvant chemotherapy should be based on its effectiveness in reducing breast cancer recurrences and its short- and long-term toxicities. Although adjuvant anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy has the most data supporting its effectiveness, anthracyclines carry a small but important increased risk for cardiotoxicity and leukemia. Two recent clinical trials help describe the degree of benefit with adjuvant anthracycline therapy compared with taxane therapy alone. They suggest that in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and limited lymph node involvement, nonanthracycline taxane-based adjuvant therapy may be adequate.