Paclitaxel plus carboplatin for women with advanced breast cancer

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin for advanced breast cancer (ABC). Methods: From January 2001 to March 2006, 45 patients with ABC were treated with combination chemotherapy of paclitaxel and carboplatin. Patients received infusion of paclitaxel 175 mg/m² on day 1 every 3 weeks or 75 mg/m² on day 1, 8, 15 every 4 weeks. Carboplatin was administrated on day 2 with a dose of area under the time-concentration curve (AUC) being 5. Results: The median number of cycles was 3 (range, 2-6). The overall response rate was 62.2%. Median time to progression was 7.0 months (95% CI: 5.1-8.9). Median overall survival was 29.0 months (95% CI: 20.1-37.9). One year survival rate was 73.3%. Response rate for first line and second line treatment were 62.1% and 62.5%, respectively. No significant difference in response existed between visceral metastasis and soft tissue metastasis. The main side effects included nausea/vomiting, neurotoxicity, and hematologic toxicities. Grade III to IV adverse events included nausea/vomiting in 2 cases (4.4%), leukopenia in 17 cases (37.8%), and alopecia in 6 cases (13.3%). Conclusion: Combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin is active in treatment of ABC with an acceptable toxicity profile.