The Role of Paclitaxel Albumin-Stabilized Nanoparticle Formulation (Nab-Paclitaxel) in the Treatment of Breast Cancer: A Short Review

Abstract

The efficacy of conventional cytotoxic drugs has reached a plateau in breast cancer therapeutics. Targeted and tumor-directed therapies are required to improve the outcome and reduce toxicity. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is a novel solvent-free formulation of paclitaxel. It demonstrates several practical advantages over paclitaxel, including a shorter infusion time, no need for premedication and endogenous albumin transport to concentrate paclitaxel within the tumor cells. A pivotal phase III study demonstrated superior efficacy and less toxicity of nab-paclitaxel in comparison to the traditional solvent containing paclitaxel as second-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer patients. Furthermore, in a randomized phase II study, nab-paclitaxel has shown clinical benefit versus docetaxel as first-line treatment in metastatic breast cancer and based on the results of this trial recently gained approval as single-agent therapy in this setting. In addition, many small phase II studies have shown that nab-paclitaxel is effective in the adjuvant and neo-adjuvant setting when combined with other cytotoxic or biological agents. These data are summarized in this short review providing evidence that nab-paclitaxel is an active treatment option with favorable toxicity profile for women with breast cancer.