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Best chemo combination for triple-negative?

Page last modified on: August 18, 2008

Question from Jason222: What is the best chemo combination for the triple-negative?: Answer —George Sledge, M.D.: Let me answer in general terms. When we have looked at chemotherapy regimens over the past 2 decades in the adjuvant setting or early disease setting, what we have learned is the addition of taxanes such as Taxol (chemical name: paclitaxel) or Taxotere (chemical name: docetaxel) to previous regimens has added benefit. We also have evidence to suggest that using these regimens in what is called a dose-dense fashion, i.e., more frequent administration of the agents, seems to improve benefit. This appears to be true in triple-negative breast cancers as it is in other subtypes, but perhaps more so in triple-negative breast cancers. We are still wrestling with whether specific drugs should be included or excluded for triple-negative breast cancers. For instance, oncologists are currently arguing over the role of Adriamycin (chemical name: doxorubicin) in early stage breast cancer. Over the next few years we are likely to see a number of new agents enter the adjuvant setting. Currently, for instance, Avastin (chemical name: bevacizumab; an agent that targets blood vessels) is being studied in large adjuvant trials for early stage breast cancer including triple-negative breast cancer. There are also robust studies going on to see whether platinum-based chemotherapies, which damage DNA, may work better in triple-negative breast cancers than they do in other cancer types, but we do not yet have an answer to this question for early stage breast cancer patients.

On Wednesday, July 16, 2008 our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. George Sledge, M.D. and Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. answered your questions about triple-negative breast cancer and its treatment.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

George Sledge, M.D. is the Ballvé-Lantero Professor of Oncology at Indiana University at Indianapolis, where he co-directs Indiana University Simon Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Program.

Beth Baughman DuPree, M.D., F.A.C.S. the medical director of the Breast Health Program at Holy Redeemer Health System in Meadowbrook, PA.