Drug treatments for adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer: recent trials and future directions.
Adjuvant chemotherapy with anthracycline-based regimens has been proven to decrease the risk of relapse and cancer-related mortality in women with early-stage breast cancer. The taxanes, paclitaxel and docetaxel, have been incorporated into several adjuvant chemotherapy regimens in recent studies. Some of these trials have matured and demonstrated a definitive benefit with the use of taxanes. The available studies reveal that the addition of a taxane after an anthracycline or the substitution of a taxane into a three-drug regimen, such as docetaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, clearly demonstrate a benefit for taxanes in the adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. The toxicities of the taxanes are generally acceptable. Targeted therapy, such as with trastuzumab, has demonstrated a large benefit that previously has never been seen in adjuvant chemotherapy trials, and thus, should now be part of the standard in the treatment of HER-2/neu positive breast cancer. Newer agents are on the horizon.
Dang
Chau T
CT
Solid Tumor Division, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA. dangc@mskcc.org
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D000077143:Docetaxel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D043823:Taxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D043823:Taxoids; D000077143:Docetaxel; D017239:Paclitaxel