Feasibility of concurrent weekly paclitaxel and radiotherapy in node-positive breast cancer: An experience from India.

Abstract

201 Background: Breast cancer patients with positive node and extra nodal spread are at a higher risk for distant metastases and they require immediate adjuvant chemotherapy. Similarly patients after breast conservative surgery or with patholgical T3, T4 disease require adjuvant radiation as early as possible. Taxanes have shown good response in node positive patients and are combined in many adjuvant chemotherapy regimens. Hence the current study was taken to assess the feasibility of concurrent weekly paclitaxel and radiotherapy. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 22 female breast cancer patients after modified radical mastectomy or breast conservative surgery with pathologically positive node. Chest wall or whole breast radiotherapy was given on Tele Cobalt or Linac for a dose of 50 – 50.4Gy in conventional fractionation. Boost of 16 Gy was given to tumor cavity for those undergone breast conservative surgery. All patients received Inj. paclitaxel 60 mg/m2 once a week for 5 weeks. After completion of RT, paclitaxel dose was increased to 80mg/m2 for remaining 7 cycles. This was followed by anthracycline-based treatment sequentially as per standard adjuvant guidelines. Patients assessed weekly and toxicities graded based on CTC version 03. The minimum follow up was 2 months after completion of chemoradiation. Chi-Square test and Fisher exact test were used to interpret the results with literature. Results: See table. Skin reaction was more frequent and severe of all toxicities (p=0.003). With available literatures on adjuvant radiation alone the grade III and higher skin reactions are 3% but in our study it is 28% because of which 5/22 (22%) patients had interruption of both chemotherapy and radiation. Conclusions: Concurrent chemoradiation with weekly paclitaxel in adjuvant treatment of ca breast is associated with more Skin reactions which may result in significant treatment interruptions. It should be practiced cautiously which requires further randomized control studies to assess the toxicities in detail. [Table: see text]