Taxotere ®
and Gemzar ® Effective as Initial Therapy for Metastatic
Breast Cancer
According to results recently presented at the European Conference
on Clinical Oncology (ECCO), the chemotherapy combination
consisting of Taxotere ® and Gemzar ® appears effective
and well tolerated as initial therapy for patients with metastatic
breast cancer who have received prior anthracycline therapy.
Breast cancer claims the lives of approximately 40,000 patients
annually in the United States alone. Although cure are high
for patients with breast cancer that has not spread from its
site of origin, long-term survival remains dismal for patients
with advanced breast cancer. Patients may be diagnosed with
cancer that has spread regionally and receive treatment including
chemotherapy, often consisting of a combination with an anthracycline
(Adriamycin ® or Ellence ®). Unfortunately, patients
may stop responding to their initial therapy and have cancer
progression. Metastatic breast cancer refers to cancer that
has spread from the breast to distant and/or several sites
in the body, often invading vital organs such has the liver
or bones. Standard treatment for metastatic breast cancer
includes chemotherapy, which is most often delivered to improve
duration of survival and/or quality of life and not with curative
intent. Patients with metastatic breast cancer who have received
prior therapy with an anthracycline are left with several
options, the optimal of which has not yet been defined. Several
clinical trials are ongoing that are direct comparisons of
different chemotherapy agents and/or chemotherapy combinations
in an attempt to define the most optimal treatment for this
group of patients.
Taxotere ® (docetaxel) and Gemzar ® (gemcitabine) are
two chemotherapy agents that demonstrate anti-cancer activity
in several different types of cancer, including breast cancer.
The two agents have cancer killing capabilities through separate
biological pathways and are therefore an attractive combination
for the treatment of breast cancer. Researchers recently conducted
a small clinical trial to evaluate Taxotere ® plus Gemzar ®
in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. This trial involved
36 patients who were HER-2/neu negative and who had received
prior therapy with an anthracycline. The overall anti-cancer
response to therapy was 54%, with 23% achieving a complete
disappearance of cancer (complete response). The average time
to cancer progression following therapy was 8 months. Treatment
was well tolerated, with low levels of white blood cells being
the most common side effect.
The researchers concluded that the chemotherapy combination
consisting of Taxotere ® and Gemzar ® appears to provide
significant anti-cancer activity and is well tolerated as
initial therapy for metastatic breast cancer in patients treated
with prior anthracyclines. Future larger clinical trials directly
comparing this and other chemotherapy regimens for treatment
of breast cancer in patients who have received prior anthracycline
therapy are warranted. Patients with breast cancer who have
received prior anthracycline therapy may wish to speak with
their physician about the risks and benefits of participating
in a clinical trial further evaluating Taxotere ®/Gemzar ®
or other promising therapeutic approaches. Two sources of
information regarding ongoing clinical trials include the
National Cancer Institute ( cancer.gov) and www.cancerconsultants.com.
Personalized clinical trials are also performed on behalf
of patients at cancerconsultants.com.
Reference: Lenz F, Beldermann F, Geberth M, et al. A phase
II study of first-line combination chemotherapy with docetaxel
and gemcitabine in anthracycline-pretreated, Her-2 negative
metastatic breast cancer. Proceedings from the 12th European
Conference on Clinical Oncology. Sept. 21-25, 2003. Copenhagen,
Denmark.
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