Clinical study on capecitabine and gemcitabine as second-line treatment in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of capecitabine and gemcitabine as second-line treatment of anthracycline and(or) taxol resistant metastatic breast cancer patients.Methods Patients with metastatic breast cancer were treated with capecitabine 2000mg/m2/d orally bid on day 1~14 and gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 IV on days 1 and 8 and repeated for 21 days.Results Complete remission was 3/34(8.82%) and partial remission was 12/34(35.29%).Stable disease was 11/34(32.35%) and progressive disease was 8/34(23.53%).Conclusion Combination of capecitabine and gemcitabine is an active and safe regimen as second-line therapy for anthracycline and(or) taxol resistant metastatic breast cancer.It can be a salvage treatment option for anthracycline and(or) taxo1 resistant metastatic breast cancer patients.