Schedules of Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Paclitaxel in High-Risk Early-Stage Breast Cancer Compared

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Adjusted weekly dosing for doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide as well as pacilataxel shows similar disease-free survival rates in patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Comparing continuous with once-every-two-weeks dosing of doxorubicin and cyclophoshamide, as well as once-a-week with six cycles once-every-two-weeks for pacilataxel, researchers found similar disease-free survival rates in any of these regimens in 3,250 patients.

While overall survival was significantly different in each of the four arms, with all treatments that were given once-every-two-weeks being associated with the highest overall survival, this distinction seemed confined only to patients with hormone receptor-negative/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors. The overall survival rate was similar in patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative or HER2-positive tumors.

Led by George Budd, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, the study aimed to determine optimal dosage and scheduling of anthracycline and taxane as adjuvant therapy for early-stage breast cancer. They concluded that, upon subset analysis, once-every-two-weeks dosage may be best for patients with hormone receptor-negative/HER2-negative tumors.