Taxol with Standard Chemotherapy Researchers from a large, multi-center trial, have presented early findings showing that breast cancer patients increased their chances of survival when paclitaxel (Taxol) was added to their standard chemotherapy regimen of Adriamycin and Cytoxan. They caution that this is a small but significant benefit for patients. Patients included in the trial had disease which had spread to nearby lymph nodes. The trial compared paclitaxel combined with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and doxorubicin (Adriamycin) to a combination of Cytoxan and Adriamycin. After 18 months, overall survival was about 2 percent higher in groups of women taking the paclitaxel combination. Survival without recurrence of the disease was about 4 percent higher in the paclitaxel groups. Although the survival advantage does not appear dramatic at this point in the trial, the study is considered important because it is the first to show paclitaxel may be beneficial in the initial, post-surgical treatment of some women with localized, node-positive breast cancer. Up to now, paclitaxel has been used primarily for the treatment of women with more advanced disease. As patients in the trial are followed over the next few years, more data will give a better understanding of the role of paclitaxel, according to Jeff Abrams, M.D., senior investigator in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis within the National Cancer Institute. Investigators hope to understand which subgroups of patients benefit most, which benefit least, and how the side effects of the two regimens compare. The preliminary results should be viewed with caution, however as the follow-up with patients is quite short. The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) has an ongoing adjuvant trial for node positive breast cancer patients evaluating Adriomycin, Cytoxin and Taxol which may show early findings in the next year or two. For more information call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit.
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