Weekly Docetaxel as Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage II and III Breast Cancer

• Published in: Clinical cancer research Vol. 9; no. 2; p. 686
• Main Authors: Laura G. Estévez, José Miguel Cuevas, Antonio Antón, Jesús Florián, José Manuel López-Vega, Amalia Velasco, Francisco Lobo, Ana Herrero, José Fortes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for Cancer Research 01-02-2003
• ISSN: 1078-0432; 1557-3265

Purpose: This is one of the first reports of weekly docetaxel (Taxotere) in the neoadjuvant treatment of stage II and III breast cancer.
We evaluated docetaxel’s efficacy and safety and analyzed correlations between response and the expression of c- erb B2, ER status, and Ki-67 labeling index.
Experimental Design: Patients with previously untreated, stage II and III breast cancer were entered into the study. Docetaxel (40 mg/m 2 ) was given i.v. once weekly for the first 6 weeks of an 8-week cycle for 2 cycles.
Results: A total of 56 patients were evaluated by intention-to-treat analysis for efficacy and safety. The overall clinical response
rate was 68% (complete and partial response, 29 and 39%, respectively). Nine patients (16%) achieved a pathological complete
response. There was no correlation between response to docetaxel and the expression of molecular markers, however, the majority
of the pathological complete responses were observed in patients with c- erb B2-negative tumors. Nonhematological toxicity was more common than hematological toxicity, with alopecia and asthenia the
most frequently reported adverse events (89 and 77% of patients, respectively). Severe hematological toxicity was rare.
Conclusions: Weekly docetaxel appears to be very effective in the neoadjuvant setting. A high pathological response rate was achieved
with tolerable toxicity.