Combination chemotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer patients with metastatic brain involvement and a poor prognosis

Radiotherapy (RT) is a standard treatment for breast cancer (BC) patients with metastatic brain involvement. All patients (n = 15) had already received chemotherapy (CT) for the underlying disease when they were found to have brain metastases. To develop effective CT regimens for patients with recurrent brain metastases, who have received RT to the brain, is a serious problem. Combination CT with gemcitabine and cisplatin showed a high efficacy (complete and partial regressions were achieved in 47.7% of cases) and fair survival rates (median 10 months) in a group of patients with BC brain metastases and a poor prognosis.