Abraxane Outperforms Standard Breast Cancer Treatment Drug, New Study Finds

The chemotherapy drug Abraxane is better than the standard drug treatment for women with metastatic breast cancer that has spread, new research has found.

Abraxane, which is approved to treat metastatic breast cancer when other therapies have failed, extended the cancer progression time by almost seven months when compared to Taxotere, the drug typically used to treat advanced breast cancer, said scientists from the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University In Chicago.

The study results mean Abraxane might be a better first-line therapy for women with resistant metastatic breast cancer, the study suggested.

The university researchers studied 302 women who were diagnosed with untreated advanced metastatic breast cancer. The women were divided into four groups: Three of the groups were treated with Abraxane given in various intervals and doses, while one of the groups was given Taxotere at the standard dose every three weeks.

The results were that Abraxane performed better than Taxotere and best when given at one of the two weekly doses for three consecutive weeks with a fourth week off. Also, women in the Abraxane groups had fewer dangerous decreases in white blood cell counts and less fatigue than women taking Taxotere, the study found.

While a larger and longer study of the two drugs is planned, researchers said the early findings suggest that Abraxane should be the first treatment option in women with metastatic tumors that have spread to other areas of the body.

Abraxane and Taxotere both belong to a class of cancer-fighting drugs called taxanes. However, there are key differences in the two, researchers said.

For one thing, Abraxane showed fewer side effects than are associated with Taxotere, according to the new study. Also, Taxotere must be dissolved in a chemical solvent to form a liquid that is injected into the patient’s blood stream. Some patients have suffered severe allergic reactions to the solvent and the injections may cause fluid retention and problems with blood sugar regulation in diabetic patients.

Abraxane does not require the use of chemical solvents. Instead, the drug uses a human protein to deliver the chemotherapy into a fatty pocket in the body, researchers said.

Another newly released study unrelated to the research of Abraxane and Taxotere concluded that using Abraxane and the cancer drug Avastin is safe and effectively targets metastatic breast cancer.

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