Skip Navigation


Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology Advance Access originally published online on February 12, 2008
Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2008 38(2):99-105; doi:10.1093/jjco/hym172
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
38/2/99    most recent
hym172v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chen, S.-C.
Right arrow Articles by Chen, M.-F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chen, S.-C.
Right arrow Articles by Chen, M.-F.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Author (2008). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

High Pathologic Complete Response in HER 2-positive Locally Advanced Breast Cancer after Primary Systemic Chemotherapy with Weekly Docetaxel and Epirubicin

Shin-Cheh Chen1,, Hsien-Kun Chang2, Yung-Chang Lin2, Swei Hsueh3, Yun-Chung Cheung4, Wai-Man Leung5, Chien-Sheng Tsai5, Yung-Feng Lo1, Hsiu-Pei Tsai1, Shih-Che Shen1 and Miin-Fu Chen1

1 Department of Surgery, Chang Gung University Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2 Division of Medical Oncology, Chang Gung University Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan
3 Department of Pathology, Chang Gung University Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan
4 Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung University Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan
5 Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University Medical College, Taoyuan, Taiwan

For reprints and all correspondence: Shin-Cheh Chen, Department of Surgery, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, 199, Tung-Hwa North Road, Taipei, Taiwan. E-mail: chensc{at}adm.cgmh.org.tw

Received May 8, 2007; accepted November 18, 2007

Background: To evaluate pathological complete response rate and to identify the predictor of response after primary systemic chemotherapy (PST) with weekly docetaxel and epirubicin for locally advanced breast cancer.

Methods: Sixty-three patients with locally advanced breast cancer received three cycles PST on day 1 and 8 of each 3-week cycle with epirubicin and docetaxel (epirubicin 45 mg/m2 intravenous bolus, docetaxel 35 mg/m2 in 100 ml normal saline infused 1 h), followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, epirubicin and 5-fluorouracil. The pathological complete response was defined as no invasive carcinoma in breast and axillary nodes after PST.

Results: The median tumor sizes (by ultrasound) before and after PST were 6.2 and 2.5 cm, respectively. The negative estrogen receptor (ER) by immunochemical stain was found in 33 (52.4%) patients and HER-2/neu-overexpression in 12 (19.0%) patients. Clinical overall response rate (ORR) was 89% (95% confidence intervals (95% CI: 81–97), including 38% complete response (95% CI: 26–50), sonographical ORR was 97% (95% CI: 93–100). The pathological complete response were found in 11 patients (18%, 95% CI: 9–27), and 15(24%, 95% CI: 13–35) patients achieved breast only pathological complete response. Nine (27.3%) of thirty-three ER (–) patients and 5 (41.7%) of 12 HER2-positive patients achieved pathological complete response.

Conclusion: PST with weekly docetaxel and epirubicin were well-tolerated and very high pathological complete response rate was achieved in HER-2/neu-overexpression tumors.

Key Words: breast cancer • primary systemic chemotherapy • epirubicin • docetaxel • HER-2/neu


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.