Adjuvant chemotherapy in primary carcinoma of the breast

The 2003 St. Gallen consensus on primary therapy of early breast cancer confirmed the importance of adjuvant chemotherapy. In endocrine non-responsive tumors, chemotherapy is adjuvant treatment of choice, independent of patient age or lymph node status. In endocrine-responsive disease, chemotherapy plays an important role next to endocrine treatment. The questions, which patients need combined chemo-endocrine therapy, and for whom endocrine therapy alone is sufficient, are still unsolved. Anthracyclines are standard adjuvant chemotherapy; superiority over CMF has only been shown for anthracyclin-containing polychemotherapy with at least 3 substances. Recent published evidence suggest that adding taxanes to anthracyclin regimens may benefit patient survival and that taxanes are a valid therapeutic option in node-positive, hormone receptor negative breast cancer. The optimal use of taxanes in different risk collectives is currently being investigated in clinical trials. Generally, adjuvant chemotherapy should be administered before radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy should be given sequentially. In view of the international St. Gallen panel, the final publication may only represent a minimal consensus. Individual countries are requested to adapt these recommendations to national conditions. In Germany, up-to-date evidence-based therapy recommendations have just been issued by the AGO "breast" expert panel. Interdisciplinary S3 breast cancer guidelines are currently being finalized.