Weekly Treatment for Breast Cancer Is More Effective Than Standard Therapy
June 5, 2004
NEW ORLEANS - Recent findings in a national, randomized Phase III study demonstrated that women with metastatic (advanced) breast cancer have improved response rates and prolonged time to disease progression when they received weekly paclitaxel (Taxol™) versus the standard every 3-week therapy. The study also found that trastuzumab( Herceptin™) does not benefit patients who have tumors that don't express a growth factor receptor called HER2. The findings were presented at the 40th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in New Orleans.
Andrew Seidman, MD, Associate Attending Physician, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ( MSKCC) was the lead investigator on this five-year study sponsored by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B ( CALGB). "The results of this study will have a major impact on clinical practice," said Dr.Seidman. The study included 577 patients that were randomized to receive weekly paclitaxel versus the standard 3-week regimen. The results showed an improvement in tumor response for the weekly therapy of 40 percent vs 28 percent in the 3-week therapy. Weekly scheduling of this drug caused the time to cancer progression to be prolonged from five months to nine months. Side effects included a reduction in neutropenia and an increase in sensory/motor neuropathy.
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