Clinical observation of capecitabine monotherapy in elderly patients with advanced breast cancer

Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of capecitabine mono-chemotherapy in elderly patients with advanced breast cancer. Methods The data from 36 cases of capecitabine monotherapy in elderly patients with advanced breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Oral administration of capecitabine 2000 mg/m^2 twice daily （D1-14） for 21 days constituted a cycle. The effect of the disease and main adverse reactions were evaluated every 2 cycles. Results The data from 36 elderly patients were studied. The median number of chemotherapy cycles was 4. The total effective rate was 30.6% （11/36） and the disease control rate was 72.2% （26/36）. The number of patients with clinical comptete remission was 2, clinical partial response was 9, stable disease was 15, and progressive disease was 10. Where treatment was effective, the median time to progression was 6 months and the median overall survival was 9.5 months. The main adverse events were gastrointestinal reactions, bone marrow suppression, and oral mucositis; most of the reactions were grade 1 to 2. Grade 3 to 4 adverse reactions included granulocytopenia in 2 patients （12.5%） and hand-foot syndrome in 1 patient （6.7%）. Conclusion Capecitabine monotherapy was effective in controlling disease progression, and adverse reactions were tolerated by elderly patients with advanced breast cancer.