taxane and Leukopenia

Taxanes are chemotherapeutic agents commonly used to treat several cancers. However, the effects of taxanes on advanced gastric cancer (AGC) are still not clear, especially when used as a first-line treatment. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of taxanes as a first-line treatment of AGC. The quality of our included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for RCTs and NOS scale for nRCTs, and the data of the included studies was of satisfactory quality to analyze. The outcomes included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall response rate (ORR), and toxicity. Taxanes significantly improved OS (HR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.76-0.92, P = 0.0004) and had a slight effect on ORR (RR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.00-1.51, P = 0.05). However, taxanes may also increase the risks of neutropenia and leucopenia, similar to effects observed in other conventional chemotherapeutic treatments such as oxaliplatin and epirubicin. Therefore, patient characteristics including concomitant diseases, physical condition, and prior therapies should be considered before selecting taxane-based treatments for AGC.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Bridged-Ring Compounds; Drug Therapy; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; Female; Humans; Leukopenia; Male; Middle Aged; Stomach Neoplasms; Survival Analysis; Taxoids; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult

Patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) with disease progression after anthracycline-and/or taxane-containing therapy need an effective drug regimen with low toxicity. Mitomycin C (MMC) and vinorelbine (VNR) are suitable candidates for combination therapy in the second-/third-line treatment of MBC. This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of an MMC/VNR combination chemotherapy in pretreated patients with MBC.. In a phase II trial, patients with anthracycline-and/or taxane-pretreated MBC were treated with MMC 8 mg/m(2) (day 1) and VNR 25 mg/m(2) (days 1 and 8) every 4 weeks for up to 6 cycles or until disease progression.. In 51 eligible patients, 13 (26%) partial remissions (PRs), 20 (39%) stable diseases (SDs) and 18 (35%) progressive diseases (PDs) were observed. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.0 months. The main grade 3/4 toxicities were neutrocytopenia (41%), granulocytopenia (37%), and thrombocytopenia (4%). Other hematological and non-hematological toxicities were mostly mild.. The combination of MMC and VNR is an effective and relatively well-tolerated regimen for anthracycline- and/or taxane-pretreated patients with MBC and is suitable for outpatient therapy.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anthracyclines; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Bridged-Ring Compounds; Evidence-Based Medicine; Female; Humans; Leukopenia; Middle Aged; Mitomycin; Taxoids; Treatment Failure; Treatment Outcome; Vinblastine; Vinorelbine

To determine the safety and efficacy of gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with taxane resistant metastatic breast cancer.. Thirty-three taxane resistant metastatic breast cancer patients were treated with gemcitabine 1,250 mg/m2 IV infusion over 30 min on days 1 and 8, and with cisplatin 75 mg/m2 by IV infusion over 1 h on day 1 in 21 day cycles.. Of the 30 evaluable patients, there were 9 (30%) partial responses and no complete response, an overall objective response rate of 30%. Median time to progression and median survival duration for all study subjects were 7 (95% CI 5.1-8.9 months) and 15 months (95% CI 10.5-19.5 months), respectively. Toxicities included grade 3 and 4 leucopenia in 10 (30%), thrombocytopenia in 6 (18%), anemia in 2 (6%) and oral mucositis in 2 (6%). No grade 3 or 4 peripheral neuropathy, renal dysfunction, hepatic dysfunction, or nausea/vomiting was observed, and no treatment-related deaths occurred.. The described gemcitabine plus cisplatin combination was found to be an active and tolerable salvage regimen in patients with taxane resistant metastatic breast cancer.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Alopecia; Anemia; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Breast Neoplasms; Bridged-Ring Compounds; Cisplatin; Deoxycytidine; Disease Progression; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Female; Gemcitabine; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; Leukopenia; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Recurrence; Severity of Illness Index; Stomatitis; Survival Rate; Taxoids; Thrombocytopenia; Treatment Outcome

To determine a recommended dose of once-weekly epoetin-beta administration for anemic cancer patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy, we conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial.. A total of 86 patients with malignant lymphoma or lung cancer who received chemotherapy containing platinum, taxanes or anthracyclines were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly assigned into groups that received three dose levels of epoetin-beta (9000, 18,000 or 36,000 IU) administered subcutaneously once a week for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was change in hemoglobin, while the secondary endpoints were quality of life (QOL) assessed by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anemia (FACT-An) questionnaire and transfusion requirements.. Among the 69 patients (per protocol set population) assessable for efficacy, hemoglobin level change in the 36,000 IU group was significantly greater than that in the 9000 IU group (1.75 +/- 2.15 versus 0.04 +/- 1.98 g/dl; P = 0.009), and a significant dose-response relationship was observed for the change in hemoglobin level (P = 0.003). Although changes in FACT-An Total Fatigue subscale (Fatigue subscale) scores were similar for the three dosage groups, there was a statistically significant correlation (r = 0.435, P < 0.001) between the change in hemoglobin levels and the change in Fatigue subscale scores. The proportion of transfused patients was significantly smaller in the 36 000 IU group compared with that in the 9000 IU group (P = 0.022, not adjusted for pre-study transfusions). The incidence of adverse events was similar in the three dosage groups.. Once-weekly epoetin-beta 36,000 IU for 12 weeks was well tolerated and significantly increased hemoglobin levels in anemic cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anemia; Anthracyclines; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bridged-Ring Compounds; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Double-Blind Method; Drug Administration Schedule; Erythrocyte Transfusion; Erythropoietin; Female; Hemoglobins; Humans; Leukopenia; Lung Neoplasms; Lymphoma; Male; Middle Aged; Platinum Compounds; Quality of Life; Recombinant Proteins; Taxoids

To evaluate the single agent activity, pharmacokinetics and tolerability of the novel tubulin targeted agent vinflunine (VFL) (320 mg m(-2) q 21 days) as second-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC). All patients had disease progression after anthracycline/taxane (A/T) therapy. They could have received a nonanthracycline adjuvant treatment and subsequently received a first-line A/T combination for advanced/metastatic disease; or relapsed >6 months after completion of adjuvant A/T therapy and were subsequently treated with the alternative agent; or relapsed within 6 months from an adjuvant A/T combination. Objective response was documented in 18 of 60 patients enrolled (RR: 30% (95% confidence interval (CI): 18.9-43.2%)). Among the responders, seven patients had relapsed during a period of <3 months from taxane-based regimen yielding a RR of 33.3%. The median duration of response was 4.8 months (95% CI: 4.2-7.2), median progression-free survival was 3.7 months (95% CI: 2.8-4.2) and median overall survival was 14.3 months (95% CI: 9.2-19.6). The most frequent adverse event was neutropenia (grade 3 in 28.3% and grade 4 in 36.7% of patients). No febrile neutropenia was observed. Fatigue (grade 3 in 16.7% of patients) and constipation (grade 3 in 11.7% of patients) were also common; these were non-cumulative and manageable permitting achievement of a good relative dose intensity of 93.5%. Vinflunine is an active agent with acceptable tolerance in the management of MBC patients previously treated with (A/T)-based regimens. These encouraging phase II results warrant further investigation of this novel agent in combination with other active agents in this setting or in earlier stages of disease.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anthracyclines; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Breast Neoplasms; Bridged-Ring Compounds; Constipation; Disease Progression; Female; Humans; Leukopenia; Middle Aged; Nausea; Neutropenia; Survival Analysis; Taxoids; Treatment Outcome; Vinblastine

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cisplatin and capecitabine combination (XP) therapy for patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) progressing after anthracycline and taxane treatment.. Twenty-nine metastatic TNBC patients were prospectively enrolled to receive capecitabine (1, 000 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1-14) and cisplatin (75 mg/m(2) on day 1) , repeated every 3 weeks.. With a median of 6 cycles of XP, all 29 patients were evaluable for response, including 18 PR (62.1%), 6 SD (20.7%), 5 PD (17.2%) and no CR. The response rate was 62.1%. Patients with earlier stage at diagnosis (stage I to IIIA), longer post-operative disease free survival (>2 years) and less metastatic sites (≤ 3) obtained significantly higher response rate than patients with later stage at diagnosis (stage IIIB to IV), shorter post-operative disease free survival (≤ 2 years) and more metastatic sites (>3). The leading side effects were grade 1/2 gastrointestinal and hematological toxicities. Grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia (34.5%), leukocytopenia (31.0%), anemia (6.9%), thrombocytopenia (3.4%), nausea/vomiting (20.7%), stomatitis (3.4%), and hand-foot syndrome (3.4%).. Cisplatin and capecitabine combination therapy is an active and well-tolerated doublet treatment in metastatic TNBC patients progressing after anthracycline and taxane treatments.

Topics: Anthracyclines; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bridged-Ring Compounds; Capecitabine; Cisplatin; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Hand-Foot Syndrome; Humans; Leukopenia; Neutropenia; Prospective Studies; Taxoids; Treatment Outcome; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms