Abstract
Capecitabine is orally administered and may be safely and conveniently used in patients with cancer. The antitumor activity of capecitabine in breast cancer was mostly demonstrated in the salvage therapy setting, whereas the effect of adjuvant capecitabine monotherapy in breast cancer remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate adjuvant capecitabine monotherapy in elderly women with breast cancer. A total of 251 patients were enrolled and survival was compared between elderly breast cancer patients who received adjuvant capecitabine monotherapy and those who received no chemotherapy. Cancer-specific and disease-free survival curves were compared using log-rank tests and survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analyses were conducted using Cox's proportional hazard regression model. There was no significant difference between the clinicopathological characteristics, including age, tumor size, lymph node status, histological grade and hormone status, between patients in the two groups. The breast cancer-specific survival rate was 89.3% in the capecitabine monotherapy group vs. 81.3% in the no chemotherapy group; the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.128). The disease-free survival rate was 81.7% in the capecitabine monotherapy group vs. 65.3% in the no chemotherapy group. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated a longer disease-free survival in the capecitabine monotherapy group (P=0.015). On Cox regression analysis, capecitabine monotherapy was found to be associated with the disease-free survival rate (P=0.014, hazard ratio=0.500) but not with the cancer-specific survival rate (P=0.181). The adverse events of capecitabine monotherapy were recorded and there was no chemotherapy interruption due to severe adverse reactions. Therefore, adjuvant capecitabine monotherapy in elderly women with breast cancer is a safe and effective option, as well as a viable alternative for elderly breast cancer patients who refuse standard adjuvant therapy.
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