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Published on: October 27, 2014
Transfer of carboplatin and paclitaxel into breast milk
Stephen J Griffin1, Maria Milla, Teresa E Baker
1Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA.
Carboplatin is an alkylating agent that is FDA approved for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. Paclitaxel is a plant taxane mitotic inhibitor approved for primary or salvage treatment of ovarian and breast cancer. This is a case report of a 40-year-old woman who was exclusively breastfeeding prior to being treated for papillary thyroid cancer with intravenous carboplatin (233 mg) and intravenous paclitaxel (30 mg/m(2)) for 6 consecutive weeks. Breast milk samples were collected during the sixth chemotherapy session. Carboplatin had a relative infant dose of 2.0% and remained measurable after 316 hours. Paclitaxel had a relative infant dose of 16.7% but was eliminated before 316 hours. The potential side effects of infant exposure of these medications include myelosuppression, hypersensitivity reactions, nephrotoxicity, and neurotoxicity. It would be inadvisable for a mother to breastfeed while undergoing therapy with these 2 medications.
Carboplatin is an alkylating agent that is FDA approved for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. Paclitaxel is a plant taxane mitotic inhibitor approved for primary or salvage treatment of ovarian and breast cancer. This is a case report of a 40-year-old woman who was exclusively breastfeeding prior to being treated for papillary thyroid cancer with intravenous carboplatin (233 mg) and intravenous paclitaxel (30 mg/m(2)) for 6 consecutive weeks. Breast milk samples were collected during the sixth chemotherapy session. Carboplatin had a relative infant dose of 2.0% and remained measurable after 316 hours. Paclitaxel had a relative infant dose of 16.7% but was eliminated before 316 hours. The potential side effects of infant exposure of these medications include myelosuppression, hypersensitivity reactions, nephrotoxicity, and neurotoxicity. It would be inadvisable for a mother to breastfeed while undergoing therapy with these 2 medications.
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