Comparing Two Chemotherapy Drugs for Breast Cancer
Author Information
Author(s): Shen Yuanyuan, Hua Qingling, Dong Menghao, Jin Wei, Hu Xueyang, Gu Kangsheng
Primary Institution: The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University
Hypothesis
This study aims to compare the efficiencies and toxicities of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) based and epirubicin based chemotherapeutic regimens as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for early breast cancer.
Conclusion
PLD based chemotherapeutic regimen is a viable option for NAC of breast cancer, especially for patients with HER-2 overexpressing pathological feature.
Supporting Evidence
- The pCR rate of patients in the PLD group was significantly higher than the EPI group.
- Most severe AEs of patients in the EPI group were more than the PLD group.
- Mutation rates of specific genes were significantly higher in patients with severe AEs.
Takeaway
This study looked at two types of chemotherapy for breast cancer and found that one type, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, works better and has fewer side effects than the other type, epirubicin.
Methodology
The study retrospectively analyzed 391 patients with stage II-III breast cancer who received NAC in multiple centers, comparing the efficiencies and toxicities of PLD and epirubicin based NAC regimens.
Potential Biases
The study may have selection bias despite using propensity score matching.
Limitations
The retrospective design leaves room for unmeasured confounding factors that may produce unreliable results.
Participant Demographics
Patients included were aged 18 to 75 years, with stage II-III primary breast cancer.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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