Background: Non-pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (NPLD) has demonstrated equivalent antitumor activity to conventional doxorubicin and a significantly lower risk of cardiotoxicity when given as single agent or in combination with cyclophosphamide, but there is limited experience with the combination of NPLD and taxanes. This phase II study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the NPLD and docetaxel in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Patients and methods: A total of 51 patients were treated with NPLD (60 mg/m(2)) and docetaxel (75 mg/m(2)) in 3-weeks intervals for up to eight cycles.
Results: The overall response rate was 50% and 78% of patients derived a clinical benefit. Median time to progression and overall survival were 10.0 months (95% CI, 6.9-13.1 months) and 25 months (95% CI, 22.1-29.8 months), respectively. Median duration of response was 12.0 months (95% CI 7.1-16.9). The treatment was generally well tolerated and associated with toxicities that were consistent with the known side-effects of the individual agents and of anthracycline/taxane combinations. There were no symptomatic cardiac averse events and mild asymptomatic LVEF changes were reported in five patients.
Conclusions: The combination of NPLD and docetaxel is well tolerated and has high antitumour activity in MBC patients.