Capecitabine and Huaier granule intensive therapy:clinical effectiveness and prognosis in patients with triple-negative breast cancer receiving conventional treatmentOA

Background:Triple-negative breast cancer is the most malignant among all types of breast cancer.Patients with triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)have limited therapeutic options following standard treatment(surgery,neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy,and radiotherapy).Capecitabine and Huaier granule are both drugs used in the conventional treatment stage for TNBC.This study investigated the efficacy and toxicity of intense therapy with capecitabine and/or Huaier granule in TNBC patients after conventional treatment.Methods:From January 2011 to October 2023,data were collected retrospectively from patients at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University who had TNBC with clinical stages I-III.These patients had surgery and successfully finished standard adjuvant chemotherapy with anthracycline and/or taxanes.Patients were categorized into four groups based on intensive therapy:capecitabine monotherapy(n=92),Huaier granule monotherapy(n=79),combination therapy(n=87),and observation(n=90).Results:Among the 348 patients with TNBC treated at Xuzhou Medical University’s Affiliated Hospital,the capecitabine group,the Huaier granule group,the capecitabine combined with Huaier granule group(the combination group),and the observation group had 5-year progression-free survival(PFS)of 64.6%,65.8%,86.3%,and 41.8%.The 5-year overall survival(OS)rates were 81.5%,92.5%,94.5%,and 69.8%,respectively.The combination group showed significantly superior PFS and OS compared to all other groups(P<0.01).Combination therapy significantly reduced capecitabine-associated adverse events:hand-foot syndrome(11.5%vs 54.3%),leukopenia(16.1%vs 28.3%),and abdominal pain/diarrhea(2.3%vs 20.7%).Conclusion:Intensive therapy with capecitabine and/or Huaier granule,particularly the combination regimen,significantly improved survival outcomes in TNBC patients after standard treatment.The combination also markedly reduced the adverse events associated with capecitabine monotherapy.