Abstract

To investigate the therapeutic effect of anthracycline chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer and its influence on estradiol and tumor size, 136 breast cancer patients in Shan Xi Bethune Hospital were divided into anthracycline chemotherapy group and non anthracycline chemotherapy group. The clinical effects of anthracycline chemotherapy group and non-anthracycline chemotherapy group were observed. The levels of estrone, estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone before and after treatment were measured. The tumor size, adverse reactions and 2-y survival rate of anthracycline chemotherapy group and non anthracycline chemotherapy group were measured after 1-3 courses of treatment. The total effective rate of anthracycline chemotherapy group and non-anthracycline chemotherapy group was 64.7 and 23.5 %, respectively and the total effective rate of non anthracycline chemotherapy group was significantly lower than that of anthracycline chemotherapy group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the comparison of serum estrone, estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone between the anthracycline chemotherapy group and non-anthracycline chemotherapy group (p<0.05). Compared to the anthracycline chemotherapy group, the level of serum estrone and estradiol in non-anthracycline chemotherapy group was significantly higher, compared to the non-anthracycline chemotherapy group, the level of serum follicle stimulating hormone in the anthracycline chemotherapy group was significantly higher (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in tumor size between the anthracycline chemotherapy group and non-anthracycline chemotherapy group (p>0.05). After treatment, the tumor volume of each group gradually decreased with increased time of drug exposure and the degree of tumor reduction in the non-anthracycline chemotherapy group was lower than that of the anthracycline chemotherapy group (p<0.05). Adverse reactions in both the groups were, the number of leucopenia cases in the anthracycline chemotherapy group was 14 while that in the non-anthracycline chemotherapy group was 17. The number of adverse reactions in the non-anthracycline chemotherapy group was more than that in the anthracycline chemotherapy group, but the difference was not significant (p>0.05). After 2 y of follow-up, the survival rate of anthracycline chemotherapy group was significantly higher than that of non-anthracycline chemotherapy group (p<0.05). The effect of anthracycline on advanced breast cancer was better, the level of serum estradiol decreased, and the volume of tumor decreased.