Gemcitabine/paclitaxel as first-line treatment of advanced breast cancer

Abstract

Gemcitabine (Gemzar) and paclitaxel exhibit good activity and good safety profiles when used alone and together in the treatment of advanced breast cancer. In a phase II trial, 45 patients with metastatic breast cancer received gemcitabine at 1,200 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 and paclitaxel at 175 mg/m2 on day 1 every 21 days. Twenty-seven patients (60.0%) had prior adjuvant therapy. Objective response was observed in 30 patients (objective response rate 66.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 52%-71%), including complete response in 10 (22.2%) and partial response in 20 (44.4%). Median duration of response was 18 months (95% CI = 11-26.7 months), median time to tumor progression for the entire population was 11 months (95% CI = 7.1-18.7 months), median overall survival was 19 months (95% CI = 17.3-21.7 months), and the 1-year survival rate was 69%. Treatment was well tolerated, with grade 3/4 toxicities being infrequent. Grade 3/4 leukopenia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were each observed in six patients (13.3%). No patient was discontinued from the study due to hematologic or nonhematologic toxicity. Thus, the gemcitabine/paclitaxel combination shows promising activity and tolerability when used as first-line treatment in advanced disease. The combination recently has been shown to be superior to paclitaxel alone as first-line treatment in anthracycline-pretreated advanced disease according to interim results of a phase III trial and it should be further evaluated in comparative trials in breast cancer.