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Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Live Imaging to Study Microtubule Dynamic Instability in Taxane-resistant Breast Cancers
Published on: February 20, 2017
Paclitaxel administered weekly in patients with docetaxel-resistant metastatic breast cancer: a single-center study
Masataka Sawaki1, Yoshinori Ito, Daigo Hashimoto
1Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute Hospital and Cancer Chemotherapy Center, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo, Japan. sawapi@qc4.so-net.ne.jp
Aims And Background:
We evaluated retrospectively the efficacy and toxicity of paclitaxel in patients with docetaxel-resistant metastatic breast cancer.
Study Design:
Paclitaxel (80 mg/m2) was administered weekly to 44 patients who had previously received chemotherapy regimens for metastatic breast cancer. All patients had progressive disease in spite of having received docetaxel therapy.
Results:
Treatment was repeated until there was evidence of disease progression. Objective responses were obtained in 14 of 44 assessable patients (31.8%; 95% confidence interval, 17.5-46.1). Fourteen patients had partial responses; none responded completely. Seven of 14 responders had primary resistance to docetaxel therapy. The median duration of response was 6.1 months (range, 2.1-12.7). The median time to progression was 5.0 months. Clinically severe adverse events (grade 3 or 4) included neutropenia (27.2%), leukopenia (25.0%), neuropathy-sensory (13.6%), febrile neutropenia (6.8%), anemia (2.2%), constipation (2.2%), and edema (2.2%). Treatment was generally well tolerated and could be continued on an out-patient basis.
Conclusions:
Weekly paclitaxel is effective in patients with docetaxel-resistant metastatic breast cancer. This observation suggests partial cross-resistance between paclitaxel and docetaxel. There was no evidence for additive cumulative toxic effects of the two taxanes.
