[Examination of therapy using trastuzumab in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma]

We evaluated the effect of combination therapy of trastuzumab and paclitaxel for metastatic breast carcinoma. Among the 23 metastatic breast carcinoma patients treated in our institution from September 2001 to December 2002, 10 (43%) patients were immunohistochemically positive for the HER2 protein. Four of these patients had bone, 3 had lung, 2 had liver and 1 had supraclavicular lymph node metastases. The combination chemotherapy for these 10 patients was evaluated as follows: CR in 1 patient, PR in 4, NC in 2, and PD in 3. Two patients with liver metastases showed remarkable tumor regression. Combination therapy did not have to be stopped in any of the patients due to side effects. These results show that combination therapy of trastuzumab and paclitaxel may be a useful treatment regimen for chemotherapy-resistant metastatic breast carcinoma patients.