Dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by dose-dense albumin-bound paclitaxel plus bevacizumab is safe as adjuvant therapy in patients with early stage breast cancer

Abstract

Every-2-week (dose-dense) adjuvant doxorubicin (A) plus cyclophosphamide (C) followed by cremophor-formulated paclitaxel (cf-P) was efficacious in metastatic breast cancer (BC). Albumin-bound paclitaxel (ab-P) was safe and more effective than cf-P, and the addition of bevacizumab to cf-P improved efficacy. This study compared the safety of dose-dense ab-P vs cf-P plus bevacizumab following dose-dense adjuvant AC for early-stage BC. Patients and Methods: Women with operable, histologically confirmed BC were randomized to 4 cycles of dose-dense A 60 mg/m² plus C 600 mg/m² IV with SC pegfilgrastim, followed by 4 cycles of either dose-dense IV ab-P 260 mg/m² or cf-P 175 mg/m². Bevacizumab was given during and following chemotherapy. 97 and 96% of patients completed 4 cycles of AC therapy, while 84 and 85% of patients completed 4 cycles of taxane therapy in the ab-P and cf-P arms, respectively (N = 197). Baseline patient characteristics were similar. The most common grade ≥3 taxane-related adverse events (AEs) were fatigue and neutropenia. Dose reductions were similar between the treatment arms. During AC therapy, the majority of dose reductions were due to febrile neutropenia; during taxane therapy, the majority of cases were due to neuropathy. No taxane-related dose interruption occurred in the ab-P arm, while 3 occurred in the cf-P arm due to hypersensitivity reactions. The mean cumulative paclitaxel dose was 950.5 and 660.8 mg/m² in the ab-P and cf-P arms, respectively. A 44% higher paclitaxel dose was delivered in the ab-P compared with the cf-P arm (P < 0.0001), while achieving a similar safety profile. ab-P plus bevacizumab following AC therapy without prophylactic premedications was tolerable in early-stage BC patients.