Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.Eli Lilly's Gemzar plus Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere has demonstrated similar efficacy, but with an improved safety profile, compared to Roche's Xeloda plus docetaxel in a phase III breast cancer trial.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
The study, presented at the 41st annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), compared the two combinations as first- or second-line treatment in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Patients receiving the Gemzar (gemcitabine, HCl) and Taxotere (docetaxel) combination had the same progression-free survival time and tumor response rate as patients receiving the Xeloda (capecitabine)-based combination. Patients administered the Gemzar combination also experienced significantly fewer toxic side effects, such as mucositis, diarrhea and hand-foot syndrome.
“Treatment-related side effects can be severely debilitating for women with metastatic breast cancer and have a tremendous impact on their quality of life,” said Dr Stephen Chan, consultant oncologist at Nottingham City Hospital, UK, and primary investigator of the study.
“The combination of efficacy and improved tolerability seen in this study with Gemzar/docetaxel suggests that we’ve taken an important step forward where we can treat the cancer while helping women live their everyday lives more comfortably and with less risk of side effects.”