Capecitabine in advanced breast cancer: Predictive factors for response

1126 Background: Capecitabine is increasingly used in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We evaluated the use of capecitabine therapy (XT) in MBC at our centre, to determine factors that might predict response. Methods: We reviewed the records of patients (pts) with MBC who received XT, from February 05 to March 06. The duration of XT, whether use was continuous or intermittent, the line of use and concurrent treatments were evaluated. Response to XT was correlated to potential predicitve factors including age, tumour grade, estrogen receptor (ER) status and HER2 expression. Time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) after XT were calculated. Results: Seventy-two women received XT with a median age at initiation of 57 years. At diagnosis, 44% had grade 3 tumors. ER was positive in 61% and HER2 over-expressed in 33%. Adjuvant chemotherapy was given to 61% and adjuvant hormones to 54%. Median time to first relapse was 29 months (mths). XT was used commonly as 2nd- (26.4%) or 3rd-line ...