Docetaxel, Cisplatin and Capecitabine as Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

This is an open-label phase II trial designed to test the effect and toxicity profile of combination of docetaxel, cisplatin, and capecitabine in locally advanced breast cancer patients.Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death for women in Taiwan. Despite the advance in multidisciplinary treatment, a significant number of patients eventually develop metastatic disease, especially those who present with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). LABC remains an important and challenging problem in practice. In LABC, treatment strategies that include neoadjuvant chemotherapy have several potential advantages: early initiation of systemic therapy, in vivo assessment of response, and downstaging of primary tumor and regional lymphatic metastases, which makes breast-conserving surgery an option for many. The potential theoretical shortcomings include delay in local treatment, introduction of drug resistance, and unreliability of clinical staging. In practice, the advantages have exceeded the disadvantages. Clinical trial has demonstrated that docetaxel and capecitabine is highly effective in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. On the other hand, our previous study has demonstrated that combination of taxane and cisplatin is highly effective in the treatment of locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer. We design a combination chemotherapy using docetaxel with cisplatin and capecitabine in the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer.