Abstract
Many biologic prognostic markers are available for patientswith breast cancer, and considerable interest has beendevoted to confirm preliminary evidence of their roleas indicators of treatment response. It remains tobe assessed whether such markers are predictors ofresponse only to first-line or also to successivetherapies. Proliferative activity, defined by the3H-thymidine labelingindex (TLI), was determined on the primary lesionfrom 76 patients at time of first diagnosis.At relapse, patients underwent chemotherapy as absolute (48cases) or relative (28 cases) first-line treatment, andtheir clinical response was analyzed in relation tothe TLI of the primary lesion. The objectiveclinical response was significantly higher for rapidly (47%;CL, 33–61%) than for slowly proliferating tumors (15%;CL, 1–29%). These findings held true also whenadjusted for metastatic site, previous treatment, chemotherapy regimenadministered, and hormone receptor status. However, the directrelation between cell proliferation and benefit from chemotherapyheld true only when such a treatment wasused as an absolute first-line approach. Cell proliferationof primary lesions represents a consistent indicator ofresponse to chemotherapy over time. Previously administered regimens,at least hormone therapy, could alter the proliferation-relatedchemosensitivity profile of individual tumors.
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Amadori, D., Volpi, A., Maltoni, R. et al. Cell proliferation as a predictor of response to chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer: A prospective study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 43, 7–14 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005780107879
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005780107879