High complete pathological response in locally advanced breast cancer using paclitaxel and cisplatin

A multicenter prospective phase II trial of neoadjuvant epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and 5-fluorouracil (FEC100) followed by cisplatin-docetaxel with or without trastuzumab in locally advanced breast cancer

PURPOSE

To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of the (FEC100) followed by cisplatin/docetaxel with and without trastuzumab as primary chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

METHODS

Eighty patients with LABC (T2-T4, N0-N2, M0) were enrolled to receive 24 weeks of neoadjuvant chemotherapy using epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and 5-fluorouracil (FEC100) followed by cisplatin and docetaxel, plus trastuzumab if HER2 positive. The primary endpoint was pathologic complete response (pCR) in breast and axilla in separate HER2-negative and HER2-positive cohort.

RESULTS

Eighty patients were evaluable for analysis of which 51 were HER2 negative and 29 HER2 positive: median age: 43 years, premenopausal: 82%, median tumor size: 7.0 cm (4-10), stage IIB: 25% and IIIA/IIIB: 75%, both ER/PR positive: 56%, HER2 positive (3+) by IHC staining: 36%. Clinical complete response was seen in 48%, and clinical partial response was seen in 52%. Overall the pathologic complete response (pCR) was 36% in breast, 64 % in axilla, and 32% in both breast and axilla. Analysis of pCR in breast and axilla, as a function of the hormonal receptor (HR) and HER2, was as follows: HR(+)/HER2(-): 11%; HR(+)/HER(+): 56 %; HR(-)/HER2(-): 36%; HR(-)/HER2(+): 62%.

CONCLUSION

In this series of locally advanced breast cancer, the combination of (FEC100) followed by cisplatin/docetaxel with and without trastuzumab was very active obtaining an impressive rate of pCR, particularly in HER2-positive and triple negative disease, which merits further investigation.

Neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced breast cancer: Focus on chemotherapy and biological targeted treatments' armamentarium

Despite progress achieved in diagnosis and therapy in recent years, locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) remains a major clinical issue. Biological characteristics and clinical behavior varies widely, ranging from indolent to locally aggressive or generalized disease. In depth knowledge of biology of cancer progression and cancer could lead to the identification of tumor characteristics associated with outcome. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) integrated into a multimodality program is nowadays the established treatment in LABC. Although our efforts in this research task are ongoing, of special clinical interest is the integration of anti-HER2 and other biological therapies, as anti-angiogenesis targeted treatments, that may further improve the long term control of LABC. Clinical management of LABC could be modified based on molecular biology and an approach tailored to each patient will optimize therapy.

Pre-operative systemic therapy in locally advanced breast cancer: a single institution experience

BACKGROUND

Locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) is common in developing countries and it frequently affects younger women. Patients do very poorly when treated by locoregional therapy alone; therefore, pre-operative systemic therapy (PST) is commonly used.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medical records of 64 Saudi patients with LABC treated with PST in a single institution were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

At diagnosis, most patients were young (median age 41 years), and had poor clinicopathological characteristics. Following surgery, complete pathologic response (pCR) in the breast was achieved in 13 patients (20%). Of 62 patients with known nodal status, 22 (34%) had negative axillary nodes. Presence of oestrogen receptor (ER) negative tumour was the only dependent variable that predicted pCR in the breast (p = 0.03). At a median follow-up of 42 months, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 48 months (95% CI, 20-76 months) and the projected five-year overall survival (OS) was 68%. The recently published scoring system (Jeruss et al (2008) J Clin Oncol26 2 246-52), was the only variable that independently influenced PFS, while ER negative tumours and presence of lymphovascular space invasion were the only factors that adversely affected OS.

CONCLUSIONS

despite the use of standard multi-modality approach in the management of patients with LABC, prognosis remains guarded.

Weekly docetaxel/carboplatin as primary systemic therapy for HER2-negative locally advanced breast cancer

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of weekly docetaxel/carboplatin as primary systemic therapy (PST) for locally advanced breast cancer, we conducted a phase II study. Forty-four patients with HER2-negative locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) received docetaxel 35 mg/m(2) and carboplatin to an area under the curve of 2 mg/mL/min for 3 of 4 weeks over 16 weeks. After completion of PST, patients had breast surgery and then received 4 cycles of adjuvant cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin, standard radiation therapy, and, for hormone receptorpositive tumors, tamoxifen. The mean tumor size was 9.3 cm (range, 5-24 cm). Thirty-seven patients (85%) had palpable lymph nodes; 13 patients (30%) had matted or fixed nodes (N2). Eight patients had IBC. There were 11 clinical complete responses (25%) and 29 clinical partial responses (66%), resulting in 40 objective responses (91% [95% CI, 78%-96%]). Invasive disease disappeared (pathologic complete response) from the breast and axilla in 6 patients (14% [95% CI, 5%-27%]) and from the axilla in 17 patients (39% [95% CI, 24%-55%]). The only significant adverse hematologic event was grade 3 neutropenia in 4 patients (9%). The most common adverse nonhematologic events were fatigue (84% of patients) and alopecia (84%), which were usually grade 1/2. Weekly docetaxel/carboplatin appears to be active and feasible as PST in patients with large breast tumors.

Evidence-based use of neoadjuvant taxane in operable and inoperable breast cancer

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) is standard therapy for patients with locally advanced breast cancer and is increasingly used for early-stage operable disease. The aim of NC is a pathological complete response (pCR) in the breast and axillary lymph nodes, which is the best predictor of improved outcome and prolonged survival. The taxanes docetaxel and paclitaxel are potent agents in breast cancer management, with promising single-agent activity and acceptable tolerability in the neoadjuvant setting. In this review of the taxanes as NC for operable and inoperable breast cancer, we include all fully published Phase II-III studies enrolling > or =30 patients. Current evidence suggests that the sequential administration of taxane- and anthracycline-based therapy may be superior to concomitant administration. Indeed, until the recent Phase III Aberdeen study (n = 162), it was uncertain whether NC could prolong survival. In this study, sequential docetaxel after anthracycline-based NC significantly enhanced the clinical response rate and pathological complete response, and yielded a significant 3-year survival advantage, versus anthracycline-based NC alone. Recently, the Phase III National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trial B27 trial (n = 2411) showed that sequential docetaxel after doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide significantly increased both clinical and pathological response rates for operable breast cancer, with the benefit evident in both estrogen receptor-positive and estrogen receptor-negative patients. This apparent superiority of a sequential anthracycline-taxane regimen is limited to docetaxel, with no similar Phase III trials of paclitaxel versus a non-taxane-based comparator having been conducted to date. In conclusion, current evidence supports the inclusion of a taxane in NC schedules for patients with large and locally advanced breast cancer.

Phase II study of neoadjuvant paclitaxel and cisplatin for operable and locally advanced breast cancer: analysis of 126 patients

In an earlier study, we have demonstrated a high clinical and pathologic response rate of neoadjuvant paclitaxel (P) and cisplatin (C) for patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). The current phase II study includes larger number of patients who had longer follow-up. A total of 126 consecutive patients with noninflammatory LABC (T2 >4 cm, T3 or T4, N0–N3, M0) were included in the study. Patients were scheduled to receive three to four cycles of the neoadjuvant PC (paclitaxel 135 mg m⁻² and cisplatin 75 mg m⁻² on day 1) every 21 days. Patients were then subjected to surgery and subsequently received six cycles of FAC (5-fluorouracil 500 mg m⁻², doxorubicin 50 mg m⁻², and cyclophosphamide 500 mg m⁻²) or four cycles of AC (doxorubicin 60 mg m⁻² and cyclophosphamide 600 mg m⁻²); all drugs were administered intravenously on day 1 with cycles repeated every 21 days. Patients then received radiation therapy, and those with hormone receptor-positive tumours were given adjuvant tamoxifen intended for 5 years. The median age was 41 years. Clinically, 12, 52, and 37% of patients had T2 >4 cm, T3, and T4, respectively. The mean tumour size was 7 cm (95% CI, 7.3–8.5). The clinical nodal status was N0, N1, and N2–N3 in 32, 52, and 17% of patients, respectively. Disease stage at diagnosis was IIA (2%), IIB (32%), IIIA (28%), and IIIB (39%). Clinical assessment of the primary tumour and the axillary nodal status after primary chemotherapy showed that 35 patients (28%) achieved complete response (cCR), while 80 (63%) demonstrated partial response to PC. Of patients with evaluable pathologic data of the primary tumour (123 patients), complete pathologic response (pCR) was achieved in 29 patients (24%), and an additional nine (7%) only had a microinvasive disease. Moreover, 20 of the 122 patients (16%) had no residual disease in the primary tumour or in the axillary nodes. Failure to attain cCR predicted failure to achieve pCR. At a median follow-up of 37.5 months (95% CI, 31.5–43.3), 71% were alive with no recurrence, 16% were alive with evidence of disease, and 13% were dead. Of the 122 patients who had surgery, 36 (29%) developed recurrence including one of the patients who attained pCR. The median overall or disease-free survival has not been reached with a projected 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of 85% (±4%) and 63% (±5%), respectively. On multivariate analysis, clinical response of the primary tumour, pathological response of the primary tumour, and the pathological nodal status were identified as independent prognostic variables for DFS. No variable, however, was identified to prognosticate OS. PC was acceptably safe. Neoadjuvant PC as used in this phase II study in a multidisciplinary strategy was highly effective. Clinical and pathologic responses remain the most important variables that predict outcome.

The evolution of primary chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment

Primary chemotherapy may be thought of as having evolved over three generations. First-generation primary chemotherapy followed trials which proved that the prognosis of breast cancer patients receiving primary chemotherapy was the same as that of patients receiving post-operative chemotherapy. Second-generation primary chemotherapy followed trials which demonstrated that regimens containing anthracyclines and taxanes yielded complete pathological response rates (pCR)of over 20%. Third-generation primary chemotherapy followed trials which demonstrated that inclusion of newer agents, such as trastuzumab and capetitabine, in combination with taxanes could yield pathological CR rates of over 30%. In third-generation primary chemotherapy, predictive factors, especially those analyzed by DNA array analysis, play a key role. Other issues, including the relevance of sentinel node biopsy after primary chemotherapy and the importance of marking the site of the primary tumor before primary chemotherapy in cases showing cCR, are highlighted. This article deals with the history of the evolution of primary chemotherapy, along with a discussion of some relevant issues.

Platinum-based chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer: current status

Cisplatin and carboplatin are active in previously untreated patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) with mean response rates (RRs) of 50 and 32%, respectively. In pretreated patients the RR to cisplatin/carboplatin monotherapy declines markedly to <10%. Cisplatin and carboplatin have been combined with many other cytotoxics. In first-line setting high activity has been observed in combination with taxanes or vinorelbine (RRs consistently approximately 60%). It appears that these newer combinations are superior to older regimens with etoposide (RRs 30 to 50%) or 5-fluorouracil (RRs 40 to 60%). Cisplatin-/carboplatin-based regimens with infusional 5-FU and epirubicin/paclitaxel/vinorelbine achieve high RRs of around 60 to 80%. However these regimens are difficult to administer in all patients because they require central venous access for continuous 5-FU infusion. In pretreated MBC the combinations of cisplatin-taxane/vinorelbine/gemcitabine or carboplatin-docetaxel/vinorelbine yield RRs of 40 to 50%, which are higher than those achieved with platinum-etoposide/5-FU. In locally advanced disease cisplatin-based regimens achieve very high RRs (>80%). This would suggest that in chemotherapy-naïve patients platinum-based therapy might have an important role to play. Additionally the synergy demonstrated between platinum compounds, taxanes and herceptin, in preclinical and clinical studies is of immense importance and the results of the two ongoing Breast Cancer International Research Group randomized phase III studies are eagerly awaited. These studies may help clarify the role of platinum compounds in the treatment of metastatic and possibly early breast cancer.

HER-2/Neu overexpression does not predict response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or prognosticate survival in patients with locally advanced breast cancer

Data about the prognostic and predictive value of HER-2/neu overexpression in patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) treated with primary chemotherapy is limited. Therefore, this retrospective study was performed to examine this issue. Fifty-four consecutive patients with LABC were prospectively managed using a uniform multimodality approach. Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and survival were examined against HER-2/neu overexpression as determined by an immunohistochemistry method on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of breast cancer using the commercially available, United States Food and Drug Administration-approved kit HercepTest (Dako Corp, Carpinteria, CA). The number of patients in each HercepTest immunostaining group were as follows; 0 in 12 patients (22%), 1+ in 8 (15%), 2+ in 12 (22%), and 3+ in 22 (41%). None of the clinical variables was significantly associated with HER-2/neu expression. After primary therapy, 22% of patients attained clinical complete response and an additional 70% achieved clinical partial response with an overall response rate of 92% (95% confidence interval: 100% to 79%). There was no significant correlation between clinical response and HercepTest positivity (p = 0.85). Of 52 patients with complete pathological data, there was no significant difference in HercepTest status between those who attained complete pathological response (46%) and those who did not (38%) (p = 0.74). Moreover, there was no significant difference in disease-free survival (75% vs 84%, [p = 0.26]) or overall survival (81% vs 84% [p = 0.31]) between those who overexpressed HER-2/neu and those with negative HercepTest, respectively. In patients with LABC, HER-2/neu overexpression determined using HercepTest assay and according to the manufacturer's approved guidelines failed to demonstrate a predictive or a prognostic role.

Phase II trial combining paclitaxel with 24-hour infusion cisplatin for chemotherapy-naïve patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Both paclitaxel and cisplatin are active as second-line chemotherapy for patients with breast carcinoma. A synergistic cytotoxicity of these two drugs has been demonstrated in vitro. This study sought to determine the efficacy of combining these two drugs in the treatment of chemotherapy-naïve patients with breast carcinoma.

METHODS

The inclusion criteria for the study were 1) women with histologically proven breast carcinoma; 2) locally advanced disease, as defined by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Stage T4 (locally advanced breast carcinoma [LABC]) or clinically proven metastases (metastatic breast carcinoma [MBC]); and 3) no prior cytotoxic chemotherapy. The regimen consisted of paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2) intravenously by 3-hour infusion immediately followed by cisplatin 50 mg/m(2) intravenously by 24-hour infusion on Day 1 and repeated every 3 weeks. After a maximal response to chemotherapy was achieved, patients with LABC underwent resection of their primary tumor if the procedure was not contraindicated.

RESULTS

From July, 1999 to January, 2001, 46 patients were enrolled into this study (28 patients with LABC and 18 patients with MBC). Their median age was 49.5 years (range, 29.8-65.5 years). A total of 205 cycles of chemotherapy were given. All patients were evaluable for toxicity, and 45 patients were evaluable for response. There were 3 complete responses (CRs) and 24 partial responses (PRs), for an overall response rate of 58.7% (95% confidence interval, 44.5-72.9%). Grade 4 hypersensitivity (asthma) to paclitaxel occurred in one patient. Grade 3-4 nausea and emesis and Grade 3-4 myelosuppression occurred in six patients and four patients, respectively. Of the 28 patients with LABC, 2 patients achieved a CR, and 14 patients achieved a PR. Twenty-seven patients underwent mastectomy patients after chemotherapy. A pathologic CR was documented in one patient. Postoperatively, 23 patients with LABC received adjuvant chemotherapy, and 18 patients with LABC received adjuvant radiotherapy. During a median follow-up of 14.6 months, 5 of 28 patients with LABC developed recurrent disease, and 2 patients died of progressive disease, whereas 3 of 18 patients with MBC died of progressive disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of paclitaxel by 3-hour infusion and cisplatin by 24-hour infusion appears to be an active and well-tolerated regimen for chemotherapy-naïve patients with LABC or MBC.

Time to progression in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with epirubicin is not improved by the addition of either cisplatin or lonidamine: final results of a phase III study with a factorial design

PURPOSE

To investigate the value of the addition of either cisplatin (CDDP) or lonidamine (LND) to epirubicin (EPI) in the first-line treatment of advanced breast cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Three hundred seventy-one metastatic breast cancer patients with no prior systemic chemotherapy for advanced disease were randomized to receive either EPI alone (60 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 2 every 21 days), EPI and CDDP (30 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 2 every 21 days), EPI and LND (450 mg orally daily, given continuously), or EPI, CDDP, and LND. Time to progression, response rates, side effects, and survival were compared according to the 2 x 2 factorial design of this study.

RESULTS

The groups were well balanced with respect to prognostic factors. Time to progression did not differ in the comparison between CDDP arms and non-CDDP arms (median, 10.9 months v 9.4 months, respectively; P =.10) or between that of LND arms and non-LND arms (median, 10.8 months v 9.9 months, respectively; P =.47), nor did overall survival. The response rate did not significantly differ in the comparison between LND arms and non-LND arms (62.9% v 54.0%, P =.08). No difference in treatment activity was observed between CDDP arms and non-CDDP arms. Toxicity was significantly higher in the CDDP arms, leading to CDDP dose adjustment in 40% of cases. The most frequent side effects were of a hematologic and gastrointestinal nature. The addition of LND produced more myalgias and fatigue.

CONCLUSION

Neither CDDP nor LND was able to significantly improve the time to progression obtained by EPI. CDDP, however, significantly worsened the drug's tolerability.

The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has become popular, especially for patients with advanced breast cancer. The pros and cons of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for treating breast cancer patients are reviewed. The advantages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy are 1) overall survival and recurrence-free survival rate are the same as post-operative chemotherapy, 2) serves as an in vivo sensitivity test, 3) increases the rate of breast conserving therapy, 4) facilitates the study of cancer biology. On the other hand, the disadvantages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy are 1) it modifies the stage, 2) treatment delay of PD cases, 3) residual intraductal component may be left behind after breast conserving surgery, 4) there are some cases of over-treatment. Combination chemotherapy is one possible way to increase the pathological CR rate, although the optimal order and cycles have not been determined. To avoid residual cancer cells after breast conserving surgery, the shrinkage pattern should be evaluated by MRI. Core needle biopsy should be performed before neoadjuvant chemotherapy to avoid over-treatment. It is essential to develop more effective regimens and stratify patients based on predictive factors.

Decreased axillary lymph node retrieval in patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to assess our clinical impression that fewer lymph nodes are retrieved after level I and II axillary dissection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and whether there is a positive correlation between the total number of lymph nodes retrieved and the number of diseased lymph nodes.

METHODS

Patients included those with stage IIB, IIIA, and IIIB breast cancer of whom 77 had neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 58 had initial surgery only. All had modified radical mastectomy with in continuity level I and II axillary dissection.

RESULTS

Patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy had 14.3 +/- 6.7 lymph nodes detected versus 16.9 +/- 8.8 (mean +/- SD; P <0.057) for those with initial surgery only. The number of positive nodes were 3.7 +/- 4.7 versus 6.6 +/- 8.7 (mean +/- SD; P <0.033) respectively and the number of negative nodes were 10.6 +/- 7.5 versus 10.4 +/- 8 (mean +/- SD; P <0.9). The correlation between the number of positive lymph nodes and the total number of lymph nodes was r = 0.58; P <0.001.

CONCLUSIONS

It appears that fewer lymph nodes are retrieved after level I and II axillary dissection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The total number of lymph nodes retrieved increases directly with the number of positive lymph nodes in patients not treated with chemotherapy.

Systemic therapy

A large body of data on systemic therapy has been presented and published in the past year, including new information on primary risk reduction, patient selection for adjuvant systemic therapy, and anthracycline-analogs. New data on ongoing adjuvant trials (including taxane studies), unpublished updates from the fourth Oxford Overview in September 2000, and provocative data on ovarian ablation were important features of the November 2000 National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer. Important new data on anti-estrogen therapy, including aromatase inhibitors and pure antiestrogens, further expand the role of the oldest targeted breast cancer therapy. Trastuzumab and other novel compounds are being investigated as single-agents and in combination with conventional systemic approaches. Discussions on the long-term effects of adjuvant therapy have taken center stage also. These and other important ongoing developments since 2000 are examined in this review article.

Platinum compounds in the treatment of advanced breast cancer

Interest in platinum compounds for the treatment of breast cancer has been reawakened because of preclinical studies indicating synergy of platinum salts with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab in human breast cancer cell lines that overexpress HER2/neu. Cisplatin, carboplatin, and iproplatin are not very active as single agents in patients with previously treated metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The activity of oxaliplatin has not been adequately tested in refractory MBC. On the other hand, cisplatin is very active as first-line chemotherapy, with response rates (RR) of 50%; carboplatin appears to be moderately active in patients without prior chemotherapy (RR around 30%). The clinical effectiveness of the other platinum compounds (iproplatin, oxaliplatin, and others) has not yet been fully tested as first-line chemotherapy. Platinum compounds have been extensively tested in combination with other antitumoral agents. Cisplatin combinations have been employed as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in women with locally advanced breast cancer. These combinations are very active, although the precise contribution of cisplatin to the overall activity is not known. Combinations with cisplatin have been investigated, essentially, as salvage therapy for patients with previously treated MBC. The combinations of cisplatin with older pharmacological agents (5-fluorouracil, etoposide) have moderate activity, while the combinations of cisplatin with the newer agents (vinorelbine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine) appear to be more active. The combinations of carboplatin with the classical agents (5-fluorouracil, etoposide) are poorly active in previously treated MBC; however, the combination of carboplatin with the taxanes (docetaxel, paclitaxel) is more active. Of greatest interest is the synergy between the platinum derivatives and the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab demonstrated in vitro in breast cancer cell lines overexpressing HER2/neu. Currently, several combinations of platinum compounds (either cisplatin or carboplatin) with docetaxel and trastuzumab are under clinical testing in patients with MBC who overexpress HER2/neu. The preliminary results are very promising, and these combinations will soon be tested in the adjuvant setting. Cisplatin, carboplatin, and perhaps, oxaliplatin appear to have some antitumor activity in MBC and can be combined safely with other agents that are active in this disease. However, the precise role that platinum compounds play in the treatment of breast cancer remains to be defined.