Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
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 (39)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Colomer, R.
Right arrow Articles by Guillem, V.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Colomer, R.
Right arrow Articles by Guillem, V.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Oncology 15:201-206, 2004
© 2004 European Society for Medical Oncology

Original Paper

Biweekly paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in advanced breast cancer: phase II trial and predictive value of HER2 extracellular domain

Received 20 May 2003; revised 25 August 2003; accepted 4 September 2003

Background:

We wanted to assess the toxicity and efficacy of paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in advanced breast cancer and to confirm whether circulating HER2 extracellular domain (ECD) correlates with treatment response.

Patients and methods:

Forty-three patients received paclitaxel 150 mg/m2 followed by gemcitabine 2500 mg/m2, both on day 1 of 14-day cycles, with a maximum of eight cycles. Serum levels of HER2 ECD were assessed by ELISA.

Results:

All patients were evaluable for toxicity and 42 for efficacy. Overall toxicity was low. Grade 3 neutropenia occurred in 12% of patients and grade 4 in 17%, and other grade 3 toxicities in <5%. One patient had an allergic infusion reaction. Overall response rate was 71% [95% confidence interval (CI) 62% to 81%], with 11 patients achieving a complete response (26%). With a median follow-up of 26 months, the median time to progression was 16.6 months. Response rate correlated significantly with HER2 ECD, with 42% of HER2 ECD-positive patients responding versus 83% of HER2 ECD-negative patients (P = 0.02). Furthermore, response duration was shorter in patients with positive HER2 ECD levels (7.9 versus 14.4 months; P = 0.04).

Conclusions:

Paclitaxel plus gemcitabine given as an every 2-weeks schedule is a well tolerated and active regimen in advanced breast carcinoma. This is an attractive combination to use when anthracyclines are not indicated, such as in HER2 positive cases that receive trastuzumab. In addition, elevated levels of HER2 ECD adversely affect the efficacy of treatment.

R. Colomer1,*, A. Llombart-Cussac2, A. Lluch3, A. Barnadas4, B. Ojeda5, V. Carañana6, Y. Fernández7, J. García-Conde3, S. Alonso8, S. Montero8, J. Hornedo8 and V. Guillem2

1 Institut Català d’Oncologia, Girona; 2 Instituto Valenciano de Oncología, Valencia; 3 Hospital Clínic, Valencia; 4 Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona; 5 Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona; 6 Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, Valencia; 7 Hospital General Yagüe, Burgos; 8 Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain

Key words: breast cancer, extracellular domain, gemcitabine, HER2, oncogene, paclitaxel


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


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JCOHome page
S. Lennon, C. Barton, L. Banken, L. Gianni, M. Marty, J. Baselga, and B. Leyland-Jones
Utility of Serum HER2 Extracellular Domain Assessment in Clinical Decision Making: Pooled Analysis of Four Trials of Trastuzumab in Metastatic Breast Cancer
J. Clin. Oncol., April 1, 2009; 27(10): 1685 - 1693.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
A. F. Leary, W. M. Hanna, M. J. van de Vijver, F. Penault-Llorca, J. Ruschoff, R. Y. Osamura, M. Bilous, and M. Dowsett
Value and Limitations of Measuring HER-2 Extracellular Domain in the Serum of Breast Cancer Patients
J. Clin. Oncol., April 1, 2009; 27(10): 1694 - 1705.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
K. S. Albain, S. M. Nag, G. Calderillo-Ruiz, J. P. Jordaan, A. C. Llombart, A. Pluzanska, J. Rolski, A. S. Melemed, J. M. Reyes-Vidal, J. S. Sekhon, et al.
Gemcitabine Plus Paclitaxel Versus Paclitaxel Monotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer and Prior Anthracycline Treatment
J. Clin. Oncol., August 20, 2008; 26(24): 3950 - 3957.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
V. Ludovini, S. Gori, M. Colozza, L. Pistola, E. Rulli, I. Floriani, E. Pacifico, F. R. Tofanetti, A. Sidoni, C. Basurto, et al.
Evaluation of serum HER2 extracellular domain in early breast cancer patients: correlation with clinicopathological parameters and survival
Ann. Onc., May 1, 2008; 19(5): 883 - 890.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
E. Azambuja, V. Durbecq, D. D. Rosa, M. Colozza, D. Larsimont, M. Piccart-Gebhart, and F. Cardoso
HER-2 overexpression/amplification and its interaction with taxane-based therapy in breast cancer
Ann. Onc., February 1, 2008; 19(2): 223 - 232.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
M. H.A. Hussain, G. R. MacVicar, D. P. Petrylak, R. L. Dunn, U. Vaishampayan, P. N. Lara Jr, G. S. Chatta, D. M. Nanus, L. M. Glode, D. L. Trump, et al.
Trastuzumab, Paclitaxel, Carboplatin, and Gemcitabine in Advanced Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2/neu-Positive Urothelial Carcinoma: Results of a Multicenter Phase II National Cancer Institute Trial
J. Clin. Oncol., June 1, 2007; 25(16): 2218 - 2224.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
G. Ferretti, M. Lopez, E. Terzoli, E. Cortesi, M. Antimi, P. Marolla, D. Giannarelli, F. Cognetti, and P. Papaldo
Myeloid Toxicity in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy: What Is the Appropriate Use of Filgrastim?
J. Clin. Oncol., December 10, 2006; 24(35): 5618 - 5619.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 The OncologistHome page
A. M. Gonzalez-Angulo, G. N. Hortobagyi, and F. J. Esteva
Adjuvant Therapy with Trastuzumab for HER-2/neu-Positive Breast Cancer
Oncologist, September 1, 2006; 11(8): 857 - 867.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Clin. Cancer Res.Home page
T. Friess, W. Scheuer, and M. Hasmann
Combination Treatment with Erlotinib and Pertuzumab against Human Tumor Xenografts Is Superior to Monotherapy
Clin. Cancer Res., July 15, 2005; 11(14): 5300 - 5309.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
A. Fabi, G. Ferretti, N. Salesi, P. Papaldo, P. Carlini, M. Ciccarese, B. Di Cocco, F. Cecere, C. Nardoni, A. Felici, et al.
Can HER2 overexpression predict response to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in metastatic breast cancer patients?
Ann. Onc., March 1, 2005; 16(3): 516 - 517.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
M. N. Fornier, A. D. Seidman, M. K. Schwartz, F. Ghani, R. Thiel, L. Norton, and C. Hudis
Serum HER2 extracellular domain in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with weekly trastuzumab and paclitaxel: association with HER2 status by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization and with response rate
Ann. Onc., February 1, 2005; 16(2): 234 - 239.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
J. A. Menendez, S. Ropero, R. Lupu, and R. Colomer
Dietary fatty acids regulate the activation status of Her-2/neu (c-erbB-2) oncogene in breast cancer cells
Ann. Onc., November 1, 2004; 15(11): 1719 - 1721.
[Full Text] [PDF]


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.