Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40331126›Full record

ArticleBreast care (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Do We Need Anthracyclines for Elderly Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?

Stefan Lukac, Visnja Fink, Thomas W P Friedl, Franziska Mergel, Kerstin Pfister, Henning Schäffler, Davut Dayan, Sabine Heublein, Brigitte Rack, Wolfgang Janni and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Breast care (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Stefan LukacDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Visnja FinkDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Thomas W P FriedlDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Franziska MergelDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Kerstin PfisterDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Henning SchäfflerDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Davut DayanDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Sabine HeubleinDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Brigitte RackDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Wolfgang JanniDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Elena LeinertDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) requires chemotherapy-based systemic treatment which is usually anthracycline-based (AB). The cardiotoxicity of AB regimens is especially relevant in the elderly population. Therefore, we retrospectively compared survival and toxicity between elderly patients with early TNBC receiving AB or anthracycline-free (AF) adjuvant chemotherapy to evaluate whether elderly patients with TNBC could be spared anthracycline-related toxicity without compromising survival. Methods: The study population comprised 221 women with TNBC older than 65 years from the SUCCESS A and SUCCESS C studies, who underwent primary surgery and received either AB (3x fluorouracil-epirubicin-cyclophosphamide followed by 3x docetaxel) or AF (6x docetaxel-cyclophosphamide) adjuvant chemotherapy according to a standardized protocol. The two groups were compared regarding clinicopathological parameters (pT, pN, grading, histological subtype, type of surgery, adjuvant radiotherapy) and side effects using chi-square tests, and regarding survival (overall survival, invasive disease-free survival, breast-cancer specific survival, distant disease-free survival) using log-rank tests and Cox regressions. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding any of the clinicopathological parameters, and no significant difference was observed in survival parameters. However, elderly patients with the AB regime had significantly more often grade 3 or 4 adverse events (75.2% vs. 50.6%, Conclusion: In our retrospective analysis of SUCCESS A and C trial, the use of AF chemotherapy in elderly patients with TNBC was associated with similar survival rates but less toxicity compared to AB chemotherapy. Further randomized controlled trials with AF regimen focusing on elderly patients with TNBC are necessary to confirm our results.

Indexed as

Adjuvant chemotherapyAnthracycline-freeAnthracyclinesElderlySide effectsSurvivalTriple-negative breast cancer

Identifiers

PMID40331126
PMCPMC12052345

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.