Abstract: Objective To explore the efficacy and the prognostic factors of docetaxel combined with gemcitabine for patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Methods 46 patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancerreceived docetaxel combined with gemcitabine regimen (docetaxel 75 mg/m², intravenous drip, d1; gemcitabine 1000 mg /m², intravenous drip, d1,d8; The regimen was repeated every three-weeks for 3-6 cycles. ). The response rate (RR) was evaluated after 2 cycles, and the overall survival (OS) and progress-free survival (PFS) were recorded. Single factor chi square test and multivariate Cox proportion hazard model were used to evaluate the relationship between clinic pathologic features and RR,OS. Results  The overall response rate was 56.5% (26/46) and disease control rate was 82.6% (38/46), with 4 patients of complete remission (8.7%), 22 patients of partial remission (47.8%), 12 patients of stable disease (26.1%) and 8 patients of progressive disease (17.4%). The median OS of 46 patients was 16.0 months (95%CI: 6.5-25.5 months) and PFS was 8.0 months (95%CI: 6.2-9.8 months). Single factor analysis showed that age, menopausal status, PS score, the number of metastasis had correlations with RR(P<0.05); Cox proportion hazard model also showed that age, menopausal status, PS score, the number of metastasis had correlations with OS, and were the prognostic factors (P<0.05).The most frequent treatment-related adverse events were myelosuppression, gastrointestinal reaction, rash, alopecia, fatigue, and were tolerable (Ⅰ-Ⅱ level). Conclusion  Docetaxel combined with gemcitabine is effective and safe in the treatment of recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Age, menopausal status, PS score and the number of metastasis are the prognostic factors for efficacy of docetaxel combined with gemcitabine regimen.

Key words: Breast neoplasms, Drug therapy, Prognosis