[Efficacy of docetaxel combined capecitabine on metastatic breast cancer]

Few treatment options are available for metastatic breast cancer with resistance to both anthracycline-and taxane-based chemotherapy regimens. Docetaxel combined capecitabine (DC regimen) is approved as a new active regimen for metastatic breast cancer. This study was to explore the efficacy of DC regimen on metastatic breast cancer, and evaluate its safety.

A total of 31 metastatic breast cancer patients received DC regimen during each 3-week chemotherapy cycle. All patients received oral administration of capecitabine (1250 mg/m(2)) twice daily, within 30 min after meal on day 1 to Day 14, and infusion of docetaxel (75 mg/m(2)) on the first day of each 3-week cycle. All patients received prophylactic therapy with oral dexamethasone (8 mg) twice daily on 3 successive days.

A total of 116 cycles of DC regimen were administered, with a median of 3.7 cycles. The objective response rate was 41.9%, with a complete remission (CR) rate of 9.6%. The most frequent treatment-related adverse events were fatigue, leukopenia, nausea, vomiting, hand-foot syndrome, and stomatitis. The median follow-up was 10.8 months (range 2-23 months). Two patients were died of tumor progression.

The combination of docetaxel and capecitabine provides a well-tolerated and active chemotherapy regimen for metastatic breast cancer.