RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Phase II Study of Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide Followed by Weekly Paclitaxel with or without Trastuzumab as Primary Systemic Therapy in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
JF Anticancer Research
JO Anticancer Res
FD International Institute of Anticancer Research
SP 4665
OP 4671
VO 30
IS 11
A1 SHIMIZU, TADAO
A1 HIRANO, AKIRA
A1 KAMIMURA, MARI
A1 OGURA, KAORU
A1 KIM, NAOMI
A1 WATANABE, OSAMU
A1 KINOSHITA, JUN
A1 KIMURA, KIYOMI
A1 OGAWA, KENJI
A1 FUJIBAYASHI, MARIKO
YR 2010
UL http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/30/11/4665.abstract
AB Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity and toxicity of epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by weekly paclitaxel with or without trastuzumab as primary systemic therapy in locally advanced breast cancer. Patients and Methods: Patients with T2-4 (>3 cm) or N1-3 breast cancer received epirubicin (100 mg/m2) and cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2) every three weeks for four cycles followed by paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) every week for twelve cycles. Trastuzumab (initially 4 mg/kg, then 2 mg/kg) was added to paclitaxel in HER2-positive patients. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate in the breast and axilla, and secondary endpoints were the breast-conserving rate and toxicity. Results: Forty-three patients were enrolled into this study and 3 patients withdrew. The pCR rate was 20.0% (95% confidence interval, 10.5-34.8%). Patients with HER2-positive tumours had a significantly higher pCR rate than the others (62.5% vs. 9.4%; p=0.0008). Twenty-four patients (60.0%) underwent breast-conserving surgery. Grade 4 neutropenia was recorded in 30.0% of the patients, and febrile neutropenia occurred in 7 patients (17.5%). Conclusion: Epirubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by weekly paclitaxel, either with or without trastuzumab, was an active and well-tolerated treatment for locally advanced breast cancer.