BACKGROUND: We wanted to assess the toxicity and efficacy of paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in advanced breast cancer and to confirm whether circulating HER2 extracellular domain (ECD) correlates with treatment response. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-three patients received paclitaxel 150 mg/m2 followed by gemcitabine 2500 mg/m2, both on day 1 of 14-day cycles, with a maximum of eight cycles. Serum levels of HER2 ECD were assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: All patients were evaluable for toxicity and 42 for efficacy. Overall toxicity was low. Grade 3 neutropenia occurred in 12% of patients and grade 4 in 17%, and other grade 3 toxicities in <5%. One patient had an allergic infusion reaction. Overall response rate was 71% [95% confidence interval (CI) 62% to 81%], with 11 patients achieving a complete response (26%). With a median follow-up of 26 months, the median time to progression was 16.6 months. Response rate correlated significantly with HER2 ECD, with 42% of HER2 ECD-positive patients responding versus 83% of HER2 ECD-negative patients (P = 0.02). Furthermore, response duration was shorter in patients with positive HER2 ECD levels (7.9 versus 14.4 months; P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Paclitaxel plus gemcitabine given as an every 2-weeks schedule is a well tolerated and active regimen in advanced breast carcinoma. This is an attractive combination to use when anthracyclines are not indicated, such as in HER2 positive cases that receive trastuzumab. In addition, elevated levels of HER2 ECD adversely affect the efficacy of treatment.
BACKGROUND: We wanted to assess the toxicity and efficacy of paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in advanced breast cancer and to confirm whether circulating HER2 extracellular domain (ECD) correlates with treatment response. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-three patients received paclitaxel 150 mg/m2 followed by gemcitabine 2500 mg/m2, both on day 1 of 14-day cycles, with a maximum of eight cycles. Serum levels of HER2 ECD were assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: All patients were evaluable for toxicity and 42 for efficacy. Overall toxicity was low. Grade 3 neutropenia occurred in 12% of patients and grade 4 in 17%, and other grade 3 toxicities in <5%. One patient had an allergic infusion reaction. Overall response rate was 71% [95% confidence interval (CI) 62% to 81%], with 11 patients achieving a complete response (26%). With a median follow-up of 26 months, the median time to progression was 16.6 months. Response rate correlated significantly with HER2 ECD, with 42% of HER2 ECD-positive patients responding versus 83% of HER2 ECD-negative patients (P = 0.02). Furthermore, response duration was shorter in patients with positive HER2 ECD levels (7.9 versus 14.4 months; P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS:Paclitaxel plus gemcitabine given as an every 2-weeks schedule is a well tolerated and active regimen in advanced breast carcinoma. This is an attractive combination to use when anthracyclines are not indicated, such as in HER2 positive cases that receive trastuzumab. In addition, elevated levels of HER2 ECD adversely affect the efficacy of treatment.
Authors: R Colomer; A Llombart-Cussac; I Tusquets; J Rifà; J I Mayordomo; B Ojeda; E Ciruelos; J Hornedo; D Vicente; H Cortés-Funes Journal: Clin Transl Oncol Date: 2006-12 Impact factor: 3.405
Authors: Alfonso Sánchez-Muñoz; Ana María García-Tapiador; Esther Martínez-Ortega; Rosario Dueñas-García; Ana Jaén-Morago; Ana Laura Ortega-Granados; Mónica Fernández-Navarro; Capilla de la Torre-Cabrera; Basilio Dueñas; Ana Isabel Rueda; Francisco Morales; César Ramírez-Torosa; María Dolores Martín-Salvago; Pedro Sánchez-Rovira Journal: Clin Transl Oncol Date: 2008-10 Impact factor: 3.405
Authors: Sandra M Swain; Gong Tang; Charles E Geyer; Priya Rastogi; James N Atkins; Paul P Donnellan; Louis Fehrenbacher; Catherine A Azar; André Robidoux; Jonathan A Polikoff; Adam M Brufsky; David D Biggs; Edward A Levine; John L Zapas; Louise Provencher; Donald W Northfelt; Soonmyung Paik; Joseph P Costantino; Eleftherios P Mamounas; Norman Wolmark Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2013-08-12 Impact factor: 44.544