Postoperative adjuvant use of carmofur for early breast cancer.

The efficacy of oral fluoropyrimidine carmofur was evaluated for adjuvant use for breast cancer. 150 patients with breast cancer of T0N1, T1, N1, T2N0, and T2N1 were randomized to 100 for carmofur and 50 for carboquone. Both drugs were administered continuously for 28 days cyclically for 5 years with a cessation period of 28 days for carmofur and 56 days for carboquone. Overall survival excluding non-breast cancer death was 90% for the carmofur group and 88% for the carboquone group, adjusted by Cox's regression analysis. Difference in drug never affected survival. Leukocyte count was decreased in the carboquone group, but no change in serum transaminase was found in either group. Ten patients, 5 for carmofur and 5 for carboquone, suffered from second malignancy, more than expected in the normal population, but difference in the cumulative rate of each group was not significant. Adjuvant use of carmofur as well as carboquone is beneficial for early breast cancer.