Taxotere ®/Adriamycin ®
Improves Progression-Free Survival in Metastatic Breast Cancer
According to results recently presented at the 12th European
Conference on Clinical Oncology (ECCO), the chemotherapy combination
consisting of Taxotere ® and Adriamycin ® (AT) appears
to improve progression-free survival compared to a standard
chemotherapy regimen consisting of 5-fluorouracil, Adriamycin ®
and cyclophosphamide (FAC) as initial therapy for metastatic
breast cancer.
Chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for metastatic
breast cancer, with the taxanes (Taxotere ®, paclitaxel)
and anthracyclines (Adriamycin ®, Ellence ®) being among
the most active agents. Chemotherapy is often administered
in combination regimens, and researchers are continuing to
compare different combinations involving newer agents in order
to provide optimal results for this group of patients. Metastatic
breast cancer refers to cancer that has spread from the breast
to several and/or distant sites in the body. Although cure
rates are high among breast cancer patients whose cancer has
not spread from the breast, long-term survival for patients
with metastatic breast cancer remains poor.
Recently, researchers conducted a clinical trial to compare
two different chemotherapy combinations in the treatment of
metastatic breast cancer. This trial included 216 patients,
one-third of whom had received prior chemotherapy for earlier-stage
breast cancer (adjuvant chemotherapy). Patients were treated
with chemotherapy consisting of either Taxotere ® (docetaxel)
and Adriamycin ® (doxorubicin) or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU),
Adriamycin ® and cyclophosphamide. Progression-free survival
was 8.1 months for patients treated with AT, compared to 6.6
months for those treated with FAC. Furthermore, patients treated
with AT also demonstrated an increased anti-cancer response
rate and improved survival compared to those treated with
FAC. Febrile neutropenia (low levels of immune cells accompanied
by a fever) were more common among patients treated with AT
compared to those treated with FAC (34% vs. 9.7%).
The researchers concluded that AT improves progression-free
survival, anti-cancer response rates and overall survival
compared to FAC as initial treatment in metastatic breast
cancer. Patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer may
wish to speak with their physician about the risks and benefits
of treatment with AT.
Reference: M. Bontenbal M, Braun JJ, Creemers GJ, de Boer
AC, et al. Phase III study comparing AT (Adriamycin, Docetaxel)
to FAC (Fluorouracil, Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide) as first-line
chemotherapy (CT) in patients with metastatic breast cancer
(MBC). Proceedings from the 12th European Conference on Clinical
Oncology, Sept 21-25, 2003, Copenhagen Denmark.
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