Paclitaxel: as adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy in early breast cancer.
Paclitaxel is a antimicrotubule agent with established antitumour activity in a variety of cancers including breast cancer. The efficacy of intravenous paclitaxel as adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer has been investigated in two large, randomised trials; it was administered sequentially to standard doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (AC) combination therapy and compared with cycles of AC alone. In both trials, the addition of sequentially administered paclitaxel to the AC regimen significantly improved disease-free survival at 5 years compared with AC alone. In one of the trials, women who received paclitaxel also had a significant improvement in overall 5-year survival time. In randomised trials of neoadjuvant therapy for women with early breast cancer, paclitaxel or paclitaxel-containing regimens showed efficacy in terms of response/remission rates, local breast tumour recurrence and proportion of patients eligible for breast-conserving surgery. The most frequently reported grade 3-4 adverse events with paclitaxel administered sequentially to AC were haematological events (neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anaemia) and nausea/vomiting.
Adis International Limited, Auckland, New Zealand. demail@adis.co.nz
Dene
D
Simpson
Greg L
GL
Plosker
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D017239:Paclitaxel