01-08-2004 | Adis Drug Profile
Paclitaxel
As Adjuvant or Neoadjuvant Therapy in Early Breast Cancer
Published in: Drugs | Issue 16/2004
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▴ Paclitaxel is a antimicrotubule agent with established antitumour activity in a variety of cancers including breast cancer.
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▴ The efficacy of intravenous paclitaxel as adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer has been investigated in two large, randomised trials; it was administered sequentially to standard doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (AC) combination therapy and compared with cycles of AC alone.
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▴ In both trials, the addition of sequentially administered paclitaxel to the AC regimen significantly improved disease-free survival at 5 years compared with AC alone. In one of the trials, women who received paclitaxel also had a significant improvement in overall 5-year survival time.
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▴ In randomised trials of neoadjuvant therapy for women with early breast cancer, paclitaxel or paclitaxel-containing regimens showed efficacy in terms of response/remission rates, local breast tumour recurrence and proportion of patients eligible for breast-conserving surgery.
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▴ The most frequently reported grade 3–4 adverse events with paclitaxel administered sequentially to AC were haematological events (neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anaemia) and nausea/vomiting.