Abstract
Plain Language SummaryThis study compared two chemotherapy treatments for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative early-stage breast cancer: one using a drug called pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) and the other using epirubicin. A total of 256 women with stage I or II breast cancer from multiple medical centers in Taiwan were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to receive either PLD or epirubicin along with another drug called cyclophosphamide. Traditional treatments like anthracyclines (including doxorubicin and epirubicin) have been widely used but can have serious side effects. PLD is a newer drug that seems to work as well as traditional anthracyclines but with fewer harmful effects. The study found that both treatments were equally effective in 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival. However, the PLD treatment caused fewer severe side effects, such as hair loss and blood-related problems. Also, patients who received PLD reported feeling better during and after treatment compared to those who received epirubicin. This study is one of the first to directly compare PLD and epirubicin in a randomized trial for HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer patients. The results suggest that PLD could be a treatment option for these patients, offering similar effectiveness with fewer side effects to epirubicin treatments.
Published Version
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