[Gemcitabine and breast cancer].

Gemcitabine has demonstrated a good efficacy in number of tumor types. Thanks to its favourable toxicity profile, gemcitabine can be used in combination with a number of drugs. Single agent gemcitabine and gemcitabine-based combinations have been evaluated in metastatic breast cancer. Some of these combinations, such as gemcitabine-vinorelbine, seem highly efficacious in patients with taxane and/or anthracycline refractory disease. Other combinations such as gemcitabine-anthracycline-taxane regimens were found to be highly effective in the neoadjuvant setting or as first line treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Some of the combinations tested deserve further evaluation in phase III trials. Several phase III trials are in progress in Europe and in the USA. Final judgment on the contribution of gemcitabine will not be made until the results of these further studies become available.