Abstract
Breast cancer-associated mortality has been significantly reduced since the 1990s, mainly because of early diagnosis and systemic therapeutic interventions. All three therapy components - cytostatic therapy, endocrine therapy and targeted antibody therapy - are at present necessary tools for the curative treatment of primary breast cancer. This article reviews the evidence base for the use of various chemotherapy schedules in patients with primary, node-positive breast cancer, including schedules in combination with targeted HER2/neu therapy.