Alternating noncross-resistant combination chemotherapy and active nonspecific immunotherapy with BCG or MER-BCG for advanced breast carcinoma.

One hundred fifty-six evaluable patients with metastatic breast cancer were treated with vincristine, Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide alternating at fixed intervals with 5-FU and methotrexate. Immunotherapy with BCG or MER-BCG was administered to all patients in two consecutive treatment programs. Overall objective response rate and complete response rate were 67% and 20%, respectively. These were not significantly different between the two immunotherapeutic groups. The median time to progression was sixteen-and-a-half months from initiation of therapy. The median survival of all patients was 21 months and that of responders was 26 months. Response rates, time to progression, and survival showed no significant advantage over a recent historical control group treated with FAC-BCG. Toxicity related to the gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow was considerably higher in this protocol than in the FAC combinations. MER at the dose, route, and schedule administered in this protocol caused excessive local and systemic toxic reactions. The alternate use of these noncross-resistant combinations in advanced breast cancer is not superior to combination chemotherapy used in the traditional manner.