Use of metronomic chemotherapy in oncology: results from a national Italian survey

Abstract

Aims and background.Metronomic chemotherapy refers to the administration of low doses of cytotoxic agents over a prolonged period of time with no or only short drug-free intervals. It is designed to overcome acquired tumor resistance to chemotherapy and reduce neo-angiogenesis despite a lower toxicity than with standard chemother-apy. The role of metronomic chemotherapy remains controversial, and its optimal therapeutic use has not yet been defined. Methods and study design.The present survey was designed as a short questionnaire and was sent to the medical oncologists registered with Medikey, a national database listing all the Italian oncology specialists linked with the Italian Council of Medica