Paclitaxel combined with epirubicin for treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of the chemotherapy of paclitaxel(PTX) combined with epirubicin(EPI) in treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer.Methods: Twenty-two patients with advanced breast cancer were treated with the combination chemotherapy of PTX and EPI.PTX 150 mg/m² and EPI 75 mg/m² were administered on day 1 every three weeks.The efficacy and toxicity were evaluated after two cycles.Results: Among the 22 cases,complete response(CR) was observed in 2 cases(9.1%),partial response(PR) in 12(54.5%),stable disease(SD) in 7(31.8%) and progressive disease(PD) in 1(4.5%).The overall response rate was 63.6%(14/22).The main side effects were myelosuppression,alopecia and vomiting.The overall response rates in the initially treated group and re-treated group were 6/9 and 61.5%,respectively.The difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).Conclusions: The combination therapy of paclitaxel and epirubicin is safe and effective in treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer,and the toxicity is tolerable.