help button home button The Oncologist http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/subscriptions/etoc.dtl
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Oncologist, Vol. 11, No. suppl_1, 20-26, September 2006; doi:10.1634/theoncologist.11-90001-20
© 2006 AlphaMed Press

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow eLetters: Submit a response to this article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article link to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Reprints/Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wardley, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wardley, A.

Capecitabine: Expanding Options for the Treatment of Patients with Early or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

Andrew Wardley

Christie Hospital and South Manchester University Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom

Key Words. Capecitabine • Early breast cancer • Neoadjuvant • Adjuvant • Docetaxel

Correspondence: Andrew M. Wardley, M.D., F.R.C.P., Cancer Research UK Department of Medical Oncology, Christie Hospital, 550 Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 4BX United Kingdom. Telephone: 44-161-446-3746; Fax: 44-161-446-8135; e-mail: andrew.wardley{at}christie-tr.nwest.nhs.uk

Capecitabine has proven efficacy in metastatic breast cancer, extending survival in combination with docetaxel and offering a favorable safety profile, including minimal myelosuppression and alopecia, as a single agent. It is therefore logical that capecitabine could build on the improved out come sachieved with taxanes in early breast cancer. In the neoadjuvant setting, a phase III trial of capecitabine and docetaxel (XT) versus doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) showed that XT was more effective than AC in terms of clinical response rate and pathologic complete response rate, with a manageable safety profile. Other studies, including a phase III trial of capecitabine, epirubicin, and docetaxel, a phase III trial of capecitabine and vinorelbine, and several phase II studies of different regimens with capecitabine, have confirmed the high activity of neoadjuvant capecitabine, with acceptable safety. In the adjuvant setting, a Finnish phase III study (FinXX) of sequential XT followed by cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and capecitabine versus docetaxel followed by 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide has shown favorable safety with lower doses of both capecitabine and docetaxel in the XT combination. Efficacy results from that trial are eagerly awaited. A large, ongoing trial program is continuing to explore the potential for capecitabine in the treatment of early breast cancer, looking at capecitabine–taxane combinations, capecitabine maintenance therapy, capecitabine for elderly patients, and sequential versus combination therapy, involving >20,000 patients.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
C Natoli, E Cianchetti, N Tinari, D Angelucci, A Grassadonia, M Zilli, C Ficorella, E Ricevuto, S Grossi, M De Tursi, et al.
A phase II study of dose-dense epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel plus capecitabine and pegfilgrastim support as preoperative therapy for patients with stage II, IIIA breast cancer
Ann. Onc., June 1, 2007; 18(6): 1015 - 1020.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE ONCOLOGIST STEM CELLS CME ALPHAMED PRESS JOURNALS
http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/misc/eLetters.shtml

Copyright © 2006 by AlphaMed Press.