Paclitaxel plus carboplatin versus paclitaxel plus epirubicin as first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer: Efficacy and safety results of a randomized, phase III trial.
1087 Background: Paclitaxel/carboplatin combinations are highly active in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We conducted a randomized, phase III, non-inferiority trial comparing paclitaxel/carboplatin (TP) with paclitaxel/epirubicin (TE) as first-line therapy for MBC. Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary efficacy endpoint. Secondary endpoints included response rate, overall survival, tolerability, and quality of life (QoL). Methods: From June 2009 to January 2015, 231 patients were randomly assigned, 115 of whom were randomized to TP and 116 to TE. Baseline characteristics were relatively well-balanced in the two treatments. Results: After a median follow-up of 29 months, no significant difference was observed between the two treatments in objective response rate (ORR) (38.3% vs. 39.7%, respectively). Both the progression-free survival (p=0.158) and overall survival (p=0.369) were very similar between the two treatments. Both regimens were well tolerated. The main toxicities were myelosuppression, gastrointestinal reactions, and alopecia. TP showed higher grades 3–4 alopecia and higher nausea (p<0.05). TE showed higher incidence of myelosuppression than TP (p<0.05) (Table). Those patients whose epirubicin cumulative dose was more than 1000 mg/m2 did not suffer worse cardiotoxicity. Conclusions: Our study suggests that TP arm is an effective therapeutic alternative for patients with MBC, especially in those previously exposed to epirubicin in the adjuvant setting. TP has some advantages, such as less cost and less side effects (myelosuppression and fatigue). Clinical trial information: NCT02207361. [Table: see text]