Objective:This study evaluated the economical effects of two different regimens for metastatic breast cancer, namely, paclitaxel plus either carboplatin (TP) or epirubicin (TE). Methods:The cost-effectiveness method in pharmacoeconomics was adopted to analyze retrospectively the two different regimens. Results:The median follow up was 23.5 (range:9 to 42) months. The overall response rate for TP and TE were 78.33%and 80.00%, respectively. The 1-and 2-year progression-free survival rates of TP and TE were 43.6%and 38.9%and 10.8%and 17.4%, respectively. The 1-and 2-year overall survival rates were 80.3%and 78.3%, respectively for TP, whereas the corresponding values for TE were 53.2%and 47.9%. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups (P>0.05). Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the average costs of the TP and TE regimens were 10 303.8 and 13 853.3 yuan, respectively, with corresponding cost-effectiveness ratios of 131.54 and 173.17 (P<0.01). For the chemotherapy toxicity, the alopecia reactions of the TP group were significantly lower than those of the TE group (P<0.01). Conclusion:The short-and long-term efficacies of the two regimens were similar. TP regimen was the optimal scheme for advanced metastatic breast cancer.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer that is characterized by the lack of estro-gen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), thereby making it difficult to treat. Owing to the aggressive clinical behavior of TNBC and the lack of recognized molecular targets for therapy, patients with TNBC have shown poorer outcomes than those with other subtypes of breast cancer. Chemotherapy is the primary established systemic treatment for TNBC. However, various novel therapeutic targets have come into focus with the advances in molecular characterization of TNBC. In recent years, several targeted drugs have undergone clinical trials and have shown certain curative effects with relatively mild adverse reactions. The Food and Drug Administration has approved some of these drugs. In the current review, we have summa-rized the advances in the targeted therapy of TNBC.