10759 Background: Anthracyclines and Taxanes represent the 2 most active classes of chemotherapeutic drugs against breast cancer. This study assesses the efficacy of Epirubicin and Docetaxel as neoadjuvant therapy for women with breast cancer. Methods: This is a single institution, single arm, phase II study of Epirubicin given at 75 mg/m2 and Docetaxel at 75 mg/m2 every three weeks for 4 cycles prior to surgical excision in women with large breast cancers. Pegfilgrastim was routinely administered as primary prophylaxis against febrile neutropenia. Results: Of 18 patients enrolled on the study, 12 (66.7%) had a clinical response and 13 (72.2%) had a pathologic response, with a pathologic complete response of 5.6%. Premenopausal women and patients with estrogen receptor positive tumors had a higher response rate. One patient died due to sepsis and febrile neutropenia. Conclusions: Combination chemotherapy with Epirubicin and Docetaxel is highly active against breast cancer. With close monitoring for toxicity, this combination can be safely administered with mild side effects. [Table: see text]
A phase II study of dose-dense epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel plus capecitabine and pegfilgrastim support as preoperative therapy for patients with stage II, IIIA breast cancer
