Cisplatin improves antitumor activity of weekly nab-paclitaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Si Sun,1 Lichen Tang,2 Jian Zhang,1 Fangfang Lv,1 Zhonghua Wang,1 Leiping Wang,1 Qunling Zhang,1 Chunlei Zheng,1 Lixin Qiu,1 Zhen Jia,1 Yunhua Lu,1 Guangyu Liu,2 Zhimin Shao,2 Biyun Wang,1 Xichun Hu1 1Department of Medical Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China, 2Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China Abstract: Although nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is approved to be given every 3 weeks, weekly use of this drug is becoming a new standard of care in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This prospective Phase II study was conducted to improve the efficacy of weekly nab-paclitaxel with cisplatin in MBC patients. Seventy-three women with recurrent or MBC were eligible for participation. Nab-paclitaxel was administered weekly at a dose of 125 mg/m2 on day 1, day 8, and day 15, followed by cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 1, repeated every 28 days with a maximum of 6 cycles. The primary objective was investigator-assessed overall response rate (ORR). A high ORR of 67.1% was obtained, with rates of 80.6% for the first-line patients and 80% for patients not pretreated with taxanes. Among those who had objective responses, a large percentage of patients (83.7%) showed quickly remarkable tumor shrinkage during the first two cycles. The median progression-free and overall survival times were 9.8 and 26.9 months, respectively. For the patients receiving first-, second-, and third-line therapy or beyond, median progression-free survival was 11.7, 7.7, and 7.6 months, respectively (P=0.005). Molecular subtype was not significantly associated with ORR or disease progression. Grade 4 neutropenia occurred in 46 patients (63.0%), with febrile neutropenia found in 9 patients (12.3%). Grade 3 peripheral neuropathy was an accumulated dose-limiting toxicity occurring in 19 patients (26.0%). Efficacy of weekly nab-paclitaxel can be improved by adding cisplatin. The doublet is highly effective, with quick response, manageable toxicity, and possible equivalence across molecular subtypes in MBC patients. Keywords: metastatic breast cancer, nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel, cisplatin, taxane-pretreate