A Retrospective Analysis of Perioperative Chemotherapy and Coronavirus Disease in Patients With Breast Cancer

Patients and Methods

Patients who received perioperative anticancer drugs for breast cancer at our hospital from February 2020 to January 2021 were included in the study, and the following data were collected: age, stage of breast cancer, regimen, whether the regimen was changed, whether the start of anticancer drugs was postponed, number of days postponed (more than 1 month because our hospital allows the start of anticancer drugs within 1 month of the initial diagnosis), presence of symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), work status, residence, and lifestyle. In this study, patients with a positive nucleic acid amplification test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were diagnosed as having COVID-19.

The protocol for anticancer drugs implemented at our hospital is as follows: Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (AC) every 3 weeks (doxorubicin 60 mg/m² IV on day 1, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles); AC followed by docetaxel (DTX) every 3 weeks (doxorubicin 60 mg/m² IV on day 1, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, followed by docetaxel 75 mg/m² IV on day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles); AC followed by weekly paclitaxel (doxorubicin 60 mg/m² IV day 1, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, followed by paclitaxel 80 mg/m² IV infusion weekly for 12 weeks); AC followed by docetaxel+trastuzumab+pertuzumab (doxorubicin 60 mg/m² IV day 1, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, followed by pertuzumab 840 mg IV day 1 then followed by 420 mg IV, trastuzumab 8 mg/kg IV day 1 and 6 mg/kg IV, and docetaxel 75 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, followed by trastuzumab 6 mg/kg IV, pertuzumab 420 mg IV day 1, repeated every 21 days); AC followed by docetaxel+trastuzumab (doxorubicin 60 mg/m² IV day 1, cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, followed by trastuzumab 8 mg/kg IV day 1 followed by 6 mg/kg IV docetaxel 75 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, followed by trastuzumab 6 mg/kg IV, repeated every 21 days); Paclitaxel+trastuzumab (paclitaxel 80 mg/m² IV weekly for 12 weeks, trastuzumab 4 mg/kg IV administered with the first dose of paclitaxel, followed by trastuzumab 6 mg/kg every 21 days may be used after the completion of paclitaxel); Docetaxel+trastuzumab (docetaxel 75 mg/m² IV day 1, repeated every 21 days for four cycles, with trastuzumab 8 mg/kg IV week 1, followed by trastuzumab 6 mg/kg IV every 21 days to complete 1 year of trastuzumab therapy); trastuzumab (trastuzumab 8 mg/kg IV week 1, followed by trastuzumab 6 mg/kg IV every 21 days to complete 1 year of trastuzumab therapy); CMF (cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m² IV day 1, methotrexate 40 mg/m² IV days 1 and 8, 5-fluorouracil 600 mg/m² IV days 1 and 8, repeated every 28 days for six cycles). Data collection and analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel.