Fisher B, Carbone P, Economou SG, Frelick R, Glass A, Lerner H, Redmond C, Zelen M, Band P, Katrych DL, Wolmark N, Fisher ER. L-Phenylalanine mustard (L-PAM) in the management of primary breast cancer. A report of early findings.
N Engl J Med 1975;
292:117-22. [PMID:
1105174 DOI:
10.1056/nejm197501162920301]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 497] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged l-phenylalanine mustard (L-PAM) administration as an adjuvant to mastectomy in the management of patients with primary breast cancer and pathologically positive axillary nodes was evaluated by a prospective, randomized, clinical trial. Treatment failures occurred in 22 per cent of 108 patients receiving placebo and 9.7 per cent of 103 women given L-PAM (p = 0.01). A statistically significant difference (p = 0.02) existed in favor of L-PAM relative to disease-free interval. In premenopausal women, the difference with respect to disease-free interval of treated and control groups was highly significant (p = 0.008). A treatment failure occurred in 30 per cent of premenopausal patients receiving placebo and 3 per cent of those treated with L-PAM (p = 0.008). Whereas a similar trend was observed in postmenopausal patients, the difference is not statistically significant. Thus, L-PAM has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of women with primary breast cancer, particularly those who are premenopausal. Results were achieved with minimal undesirable side effects.
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