| Title | Once-per-cycle pegfilgrastim in breast cancer patients treated with docetaxel/epidoxorubicin/cyclophosphamide. | | Author(s) | Montella L, Addeo R, Guarrasi R, Cennamo G, Faiola V, Capasso E, Caraglia M, Prete SD | | Institution | Medical Oncology Unit, 'S.Giovanni di Dio' Hospital, via Giovanni XXIII, Frattamaggiore, Naples, Italy. | | Source | Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) 2009 Jun 22. | | Abstract | Once-per-cycle pegfilgrastim in breast cancer patients treated with docetaxel/epidoxorubicin/cyclophosphamideThe incidence of neutropenia following combination chemotherapy is significant in breast cancer and impairs patients' quality of life. Colony-stimulating factors significantly decrease the risk of febrile neutropenia (FN). Aim of the present study was to assess the efficacy and safety profile of once-per-cycle pegfilgrastim in reducing FN in breast cancer patients treated with docetaxel (75 mg/m(2)), epidoxorubicin (75 mg/m(2)), cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m(2)) administered every 3 weeks. Thirty-five breast cancer patients were enrolled. Chemotherapy was administered in adjuvant, neoadjuvant and metastatic setting respectively in 26, 4 and 5 patients. Toxicity was monitored with programmed clinical evaluation and blood sampling. All patients completed the therapeutic programme consisting of six cycles for overall 210 cycles. The FN appeared in 6 out of 35 patients (17%), requiring dose reduction in 3 patients. Hypertransaminasemia was registered in two patients. In one patient pegfilgrastim administration was stopped because of skin hypersensititivity reaction. In conclusion, pegfilgrastim was able to maintain doses and timing of docetaxel/epidoxorubicin/cyclophosphamide in almost all breast cancer patients treated in this series. The reduced need for daily administration of colony-stimulating factors, blood sampling, antibiotic therapy and hospitalization has a significant impact in terms of both quality of life and pharmaco-economic evaluations. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19552732 |
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