The efficacy and safety of preoperative chemotherapy with triweekly abraxane and cyclophosphamide followed by 5-Fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide therapy for resectable breast cancer: a multicenter clinical trial

Background: It has been reported that tri-weekly Abraxane therapy has better outcomes in recurrent breast cancer than tri-weekly Cremophor-based taxol therapy, and that cyclophosphamide combined with taxane shows an enhanced antitumor effect. We conducted a phase II clinical trial of preoperative chemotherapy with a combination of TRI-ABC.

Patients and methods: From September 2011 to September 2013, 4 cycles of preoperative chemotherapy with TRI-ABC followed by 4 cycles of FEC were administered in patients with resectable breast cancer. In patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, tri-weekly Trastuzumab was administered with TRI-ABC. The primary end point was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate in the breasts and lymph nodes.

Results: The treatment outcomes and safety were evaluated in 54 patients who received at least 1 dose of chemotherapy. All patients underwent radical surgery, and the overall pCR rate of 37% (20 of 54) was achieved. The pCR rates according to each subtype were 8% (2 of 24) in hormone receptor (HR)-positive HER2-negative breast cancer, 56% (5 of 9) in HR-positive HER2-positive breast cancer, 63% (5 of 8) in HR-negative HER2-positive breast cancer, and 62% (8 of 13) in triple-negative breast cancer. Multivariate analysis revealed that HR negativity and HER2 positivity were predictive factors of pCR. Clinical response was observed in 49 patients (91%). The safety profile was acceptable.

Conclusion: Preoperative chemotherapy with TRI-ABC followed by FEC showed high efficacy and excellent safety. Further clinical studies should be conducted to compare the efficacy of TRI-ABC followed by FEC with conventional taxane-anthracycline regimens.