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 (30)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Alexopoulos, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rigatos, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Alexopoulos, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rigatos, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Oncology 15:95-99, 2004
© 2004 European Society for Medical Oncology

Original Paper

Evidence for in vivo synergism between docetaxel and gemcitabine in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Received 16 January 2003; revised 15 September 2003; accepted 17 September 2003

Background:

The docetaxel and gemcitabine combination is active as salvage therapy in taxane-resistant/refractory patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We conducted a phase II study to determine if this activity is due to an in vivo synergistic effect.

Patients and methods:

Women with measurable MBC, who were refractory or resistant to docetaxel monotherapy as first- or second-line treatment, were enrolled. Patients with progressive disease (PD) or stable disease (SD) after receiving at least four cycles of docetaxel received gemcitabine 900 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 plus docetaxel 100 mg/m2 on day 8, every 3 weeks. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor could be used prophylactically in patients who experienced grade 3/4 neutropenia after the first cycle.

Results:

Between January 1999 and March 2002, 173 courses of docetaxel and gemcitabine were administered to 50 patients. The median number of metastatic sites was two (range one to three). Forty-six percent of patients responded (three complete responses, 20 partial responses), whereas 28% had SD and 26% had PD. The median duration of response was 6.1 ± 2.4 months. The median time to disease progression was 7.5 months (range 1–25) and the overall median survival was 15 months (range 3–57). Neutropenia was the only National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria grade 4 toxicity (in seven patients). Hematological grade 3 toxicities included neutropenia in 12 patients, thrombocytopenia in seven and anemia in one, while non-hematological toxicities were mild and manageable.

Conclusions:

The high overall response rate of the docetaxel plus gemcitabine combination after docetaxel failure in patients with MBC can be attributed to an in vivo synergism between the two drugs. These data warrant confirmation in a randomized study.

A. Alexopoulos*, D. Tryfonopoulos, M. V. Karamouzis, G. Gerasimidis, I. Karydas, K. Kandilis, J. Stavrakakis, H. Stavrinides, C. Georganta, A. Ardavanis and G. Rigatos

1st Department of Medical Oncology, St Savvas Anticancer–Oncologic Hospital, Athens, Greece

Key words: docetaxel, gemcitabine, metastatic breast cancer, salvage therapy


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. Chan, G. Romieu, J. Huober, T. Delozier, M. Tubiana-Hulin, A. Schneeweiss, A. Lluch, A. Llombart, A. du Bois, R. Kreienberg, et al.
Phase III Study of Gemcitabine Plus Docetaxel Compared With Capecitabine Plus Docetaxel for Anthracycline-Pretreated Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer
J. Clin. Oncol., April 10, 2009; 27(11): 1753 - 1760.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
G. Dalbagni, P. Russo, B. Bochner, L. Ben-Porat, J. Sheinfeld, P. Sogani, M. S. Donat, H. W. Herr, and D. Bajorin
Phase II Trial of Intravesical Gemcitabine in Bacille Calmette-Guerin-Refractory Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder
J. Clin. Oncol., June 20, 2006; 24(18): 2729 - 2734.
[Abstract] [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.