Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Efficacy of epirubicin plus docetaxel or paclitaxel in the treatment of breast cancer

Chen Zhu, Pan-pan Gan, Na-lin Sun, Li-qun Cao

Oncology Department, The First People's Hospital of Anqing, Yixiu District, Anqing City, Anhui Province, PR China;

For correspondence:- Li-qun Cao Email: 18501781179@163.com

Accepted: 26 March 2023 Published: 29 April 2023

Citation: Zhu C, Gan P, Sun N, Cao L. Efficacy of epirubicin plus docetaxel or paclitaxel in the treatment of breast cancer. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(4):865-871 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i4.20

© 2023 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To determine the clinical efficacy of epirubicin plus docetaxel or paclitaxel in the management of breast cancer.

Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial that recruited 78 patients with breast cancer treated in The First People’s Hospital of Anqing between December 2018 and March 2021. The participants were randomized to receive either epirubicin plus docetaxel (control group) or epirubicin plus paclitaxel (study group), with 39 cases in each group. Clinical outcomes, adverse events, quality of life, and prognosis of the two groups were compared.

Results: Epirubicin plus paclitaxel produced greater efficacy than epirubicin plus docetaxel (p < 0.05). The combination also exhibited a higher safety profile versus epirubicin with docetaxel, as evidenced by lower incidences of nausea and vomiting, intestinal discomfort, muscle pain, and dyspnea reactions (p < 0.05). Epirubicin with paclitaxel resulted in greater improvement in quality of life in patients than epirubicin plus docetaxel (p < 0.05) as well as provided more benefits in terms of survival and recurrence control than epirubicin plus docetaxel (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Epirubicin/paclitaxel combination alleviates clinical symptoms, reduces adverse events, enhances patient prognosis, lowers the risk of postoperative recurrence, and provides superior quality of life when compared to epirubicin/docetaxel combination in breast cancer patients. Nonetheless, large-scale and better-randomized clinical trials are required to validate the findings of this study.

Keywords: Epirubicin, Docetaxel, Paclitaxel, Breast cancer, Adverse effects