Controversies in the management of adjuvant breast cancer with taxanes: Review of the current literature

Summary 

Taxanes offer clear benefits in adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer. This review examines evidence to date on the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of their use in the adjuvant treatment of women with early breast cancer, based on three meta-analyses, one systematic review, five clinical practice guidelines and 16 randomized clinical trials. Against the background of a major increase in the use of docetaxel rather than paclitaxel in our setting over the past few years, implying a major increase in costs, we examined whether this higher use of docetaxel is supported by the available evidence. In this wide study, we found no evidence that regimens containing docetaxel yield greater benefits than those including paclitaxel. From an effectiveness standpoint, the change from paclitaxel to docetaxel in our setting is not justified.

Keywords: Adjuvant breast cancer, Docetaxel, Paclitaxel, Taxanes, Therapy