Combination chemotherapy of metastatic breast cancer: a randomized trial comparing the use of adriamycin to that of Vinblastine.

Two regimens of chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer were compared in a randomized controlled fashion. Regimen 1 consisted of cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (CVMF). Regimen 2 consisted of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil (CAMF). The patient population consisted of both black and white postmenopausal females who had not received any prior chemotherapy. Objective responses were observed in 25/57 patients treated with CVMF and in 28/51 patients treated with CAMF. Neither race nor choice of chemotherapeutic regimen affected prognosis, although there were differences in the pattern of metastatic involvement between the two racial groups. The median duration of survival of patients who responded to therapy has not yet been reached but will be in excess of 12 months.