Alpha-lipoic Acid in Patients at Risk for Paclitaxel Induced Neuropathy

Inclusion Criteria

• •1. Diagnosis of Breast cancer.
• •2. Breast cancer must meet the following criteria:
• •* Early stage breast cancer (stages I, IIA) must be estrogen receptor (ER) positive AND low tumor grade (histopathologic grade 1 or 2)
• •* Locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) (stages IIB, IIIA, IIB as defined by the Union for International Cancer Control and American Joint Committee on Cancer) must be ER positive, HER2 positive or HER2 negative, AND satisfy the following requirements: high endocrine responsiveness (defined as greater than 50% of tumor cells staining for hormone receptors), Grade 1 or 2 histological grade, less than 4 nodes positive, absence of extensive peritumoral vascular invasion, AND pathological tumor size less than 5 cm.
• •* Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) (stage IIIC)
• •* Metastatic breast cancer (stage IV)
• •3. Must be receiving single agent paclitaxel in their prescribed chemotherapy regimen.
• •4. Age \> 18 years. There is no upper age limit for participation in this study.
• •5. Required lab values: AST, ALT, creatinine
• •6. Women of childbearing potential and sexually active males must agree to use contraception while on study.
• •7. ECOG performance status 0,1,2
• •8. All patients must have given signed, informed consent.