[Weekly paclitaxel therapy for locoregional lymph node recurrence of estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer]

We treated 7 patients with locoregional lymph node recurrence of estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer with weekly paclitaxel (TXL) therapy. TXL was administered by 30-minute infusion at a dose of 80 mg/m2 after short premedication every week on an outpatient basis. Administration was continued for 3 weeks with a 1 week rest. Five patients had received prior anthracycline therapy. No patients had received prior therapy for recurrence. The median number of cycles was 4.9 cycles (range, 3-6 cycles). The overall response rate was 84% among 5 complete responders and 1 partial responder. Four of 5 complete responders relapsed after the completion of weekly TXL therapy. Grade 2 leukopenia occurred in 3 patients, and grade 1 peripheral neuropathy occurred in 1 patient. No patients had a serious side effect. Weekly TXL therapy is effective and well tolerated in patients with locoregional lymph node recurrence of estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer, but the problem of recurrence to other sites after treatment remains to be solved.