AACR: Preoperative paclitaxel and radiation in locally advanced breast cancer

May 3, 2010

In a study of patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) who were given neoadjuvant paclitaxel (Taxol) and radiation therapy concurrently, 36 out of 105 patients had a pathologic response (i.e., either complete response with no evidence of invasive breast cancer or positive lymph nodes, or partial response with the presence of < 10 microscopic foci of invasive carcinoma in breast or lymph nodes).  After treatment, 30 out of 105 patients underwent breast –conserving surgery while 74 underwent mastectomy.  The 5-year estimated overall survival for those who responded to treatment was estimated to be 87.9% compared to 61.6% for those who did not respond to treatment. These findings were presented at the 2010 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.