The current status of docetaxel in solid tumors. An M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Review

In less than a decade, docetaxel (Taxotere) has progressed from initial studies in anthracycline-refractory metastatic breast cancer to several large, phase III randomized trials evaluating its efficacy as adjuvant, neoadjuvant, and first-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and ovarian cancer. In other tumor types, including prostate, head and neck, gastric, and bladder cancer, ongoing phase III trials are comparing docetaxel-containing regimens to previously established regimens. For the seven tumor types reviewed in this supplement, phase III study information for docetaxel or docetaxel-based combinations are presented. Impressive results have been consistently demonstrated in the trials reported to date. In early-stage and metastatic breast cancer, NSCLC, and ovarian cancer, randomized trials have shown that docetaxel-containing therapies are superior to or as effective as established standard chemotherapeutic regimens and are often associated with an improved safety profile. Trials of docetaxel as adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer are under way or have been completed. Docetaxel has demonstrated a survival benefit in many settings that previously had not achieved such a benefit. For example, a survival benefit was demonstrated in anthracycline-resistant breast cancer and second-line NSCLC cancer phase III comparative trials.