Irinotecan combined with docetaxel in pre-treated metastatic breast cancer patients: a phase II study

Purpose: This is a phase II study where a novel chemotherapy combination was tested in pre-treated breast cancer patients: docetaxel and irinotecan have already been established as agents for breast and colorectal cancer, respectively. Methods: Forty-eight (median age 54 years, range 26-77 year) patients, all evaluable, were enrolled. All patients had been pre-treated with anthracycline-combined chemotherapy, 30 of whom were also treated with paclitaxel and 2 with docetaxel. World Health Organization (WHO) performance status was 0-2. The dominant metastasis was in the liver (54.17%), in the lungs (27.08%), in soft tissues (12.50%) and in the skeleton (6.25%). Treatment involved irinotecan infusion 200 mg/m(2) for 90 min and docetaxel infusion 80 mg/m(2) for 90 min, repeated once every 3 weeks. Results: Twenty-five (52.08%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 37.95-66.21) patients showed responses: 3 complete (6.25%, 95% CI 0-13.05) and 22 (45.83%, 95% CI 31.74-59.92) partial; the most responsive metastases were observed at the liver site (53.85%). Grade 3 and 4 neutropenia was observed in 18 patients (37.50%); 14 (29.17%) patients developed anaemia and three (6.25%), thrombocytopenia. Concerning nonhaematologic toxicity, alopecia and fatigue were common; grade 3 diarrhea was observed in only one (2.08%) patient. Conclusion: The irinotecan-docetaxel combination produces quite a high response rate in pre-treated advanced breast cancer patients.