Taxotere ®-Based
Regimen Active as Initial Therapy in Advanced Breast Cancer
According to a recent article published in the journal Cancer,
the chemotherapy combination consisting of Taxotere ® (docetaxel),
Xeloda ® (capecitabine) and Ellence ® (epirubicin) appears
very active as initial therapy in patients with advanced breast
cancer.
Breast cancer is diagnosed in approximately 250,000 women
annually in the United States. Although cure rates are high
in patients with early-stage breast cancer, once the cancer
has spread from its site of origin, cure rates are significantly
reduced. Physicians are evaluating novel therapeutic approaches
in order to improve survival in patients with advanced breast
cancer, including new chemotherapy combinations. Patients
with stage III breast cancer typically have one of 3 scenarios:
1) a primary cancer that measures less than 5cm (2 inches)
in size and causes axillary lymph nodes to be attached to
each other or other structures 2) a primary cancer that is
greater than 5cm (2 inches) in size and involves axillary
lymph nodes or 3) a primary cancer that is attached to the
chest wall or skin. Stage III breast cancers are curable with
current multi-modality treatment consisting of surgery, chemotherapy,
radiation therapy and hormonal therapy. Patients with stage
IV breast cancer have cancer that has spread to one or more
distant sites in the body from the affected breast. Physicians
often treat patients with stage IV breast cancer to prolong
duration of survival and/or improve the quality of life.
Researchers from Italy recently conducted a clinical trial
to evaluate a novel chemotherapy combination consisting of
Taxotere ®, Xeloda ® and Ellence ® in patients with
previously untreated stage III or stage IV breast cancer.
Taxotere ® has demonstrated promising results in patients
with breast cancer that has recurred following previous therapies
and is presently being evaluated in clinical trials for various
cancers. In this trial, 33 patients had stage III breast cancer
and received this chemotherapy combination prior to surgery
and 34 patients had stage IV breast cancer. Following treatment
with Taxotere ®/Xeloda ®/Ellence ®, all patients
with stage III breast cancer achieved an anti-cancer response,
with 10 patients achieving a complete disappearance of cancer.
The anti-cancer response rate was 67% for patients with stage
IV cancer, with 12% of those patients achieving a complete
disappearance of cancer. Disease stabilization occurred in
another 24% of patients with stage IV. The most common severe
side effect was low blood cell levels accompanied by a fever
(febrile neutropenia) which occurred in 16% of patients.
These researchers concluded that the chemotherapy combination
Taxotere ®/Xeloda ®/Ellence ® appears to be very
active as initial treatment of advanced breast cancer. Longer
follow-up and clinical trials directly comparing various chemotherapy
combinations is necessary to determine survival benefits.
A large clinical trial is ongoing to compare Taxotere ®/Xeloda ®/Ellence ®
to Taxotere ®/Ellence ® in patients with untreated advanced
breast cancer. Patients with advanced breast cancer may wish
to speak with their physician regarding the risks and benefits
of this chemotherapy combination or the participation in a
clinical trial evaluating other novel therapeutic approaches.
Two sources of information regarding ongoing clinical trials
include the National Cancer Institute ( cancer.gov) and www.eCancerTrials.com.
eCancerTrials.com also provides personalized clinical trial
searches on behalf of patients.
Reference: Venturini M, Durando A, Garrone O, et al. Capecitabine
in combination with docetaxel and epirubicin in patients with
previously untreated, advanced breast carcinoma. Cancer. 2003;97:1174-1180.
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