Capecitabine and cisplatin combination is an active and well-tolerated doublet in the treatment of metastatic breast carcinoma patients pretreated with anthracycline and taxanes.

Our aim was to evaluate the activity and toxicity of capecitabine and cisplatin (CapCisp) combination in anthracycline- and taxane-pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients. Thirty-three patients, 20-61 years of age (median 41), were included. They received Cap 2,000 mg/m(2) on days 1-14 and Cisp 60 mg/m(2) on day 1, repeated every 3 weeks. Twelve nonprogressive patients continued single-agent Cap therapy until progression or until intolerable toxicity after Cisp cessation. The disease control rate in 154 cycles was 81.8%: complete response 3.0% (n = 1), partial response 48.5% (n = 16) and stable disease 30.3% (n = 10). The median time to disease progression was 6.3 months (95% CI 3.8-8.8). The median overall survival was 11.5 months (95% CI 6.9-16.1). The only grade 3 toxicity was neutropenia, observed in 4 patients (12.1%). CapCisp has an encouraging anti-tumor activity with a low toxicity rate in anthracycline- and taxane-pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients.