A novel metronomic schedule of oral vinorelbine for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in elderly patients: A phase II trial

1085 Background: Oral vinorelbine (VNR) is particularly useful in elderly patients due to its favorable toxicity profile. Several studies demonstrated that this drug seems to represent an active treatment for metastatic breast cancer (MCB). We evaluated the clinical efficacy and tolerance of metronomic chemotherapy with oral VNR. Methods: Women were eligible if they had a histologically proven untreated MBC and were > 70 years old. A two-staged Simon accrual design was adopted for this phase II trial. Patients were required to have negative estrogen receptor status, at least one bidimensionally measurable target lesion, Karnofsky performance status >70; life expectancy > 3 months. Each patient received oral vinorelbine 80 mg/m2 fractionated in days 1, 3, and 5, three week on-one week off, every 4 weeks, for a maximum of six cycles unless disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Results: Thirty-two patients with MBC were eligible, assessable for response, and toxicity. The median age was 75 years (ran...