Taxotere Linked to Less Neuropathy in Black Women
Black women with early-stage breast cancer who received the chemotherapy medicine Taxotere (chemical name: docetaxel) every three weeks had less peripheral neuropathy (numbness/tingling in hands and feet) than Black women who received the chemotherapy medicine Taxol (chemical name: paclitaxel), according to a study presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
Key takeaways
About 45% of Black women with early-stage breast cancer who received Taxol every week had moderate to severe neuropathy compared to about 29% of Black women who received Taxotere every three weeks.
This study included only Black women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer; Black women have a higher risk of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.
Women who received weekly Taxol required more dose reductions due to neuropathy than those who received Taxotere.
Women who had genetic mutations linked to a higher risk of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy did not have higher rates of neuropathy than the women without these mutations.
What the results mean for you
This study strongly suggests that Taxotere may be a better option than Taxol for people at higher risk of neuropathy, such as Black women.
The results of this study echo the results of an earlier study presented at the 2023 ASCO annual meeting, which found that Taxol caused more neuropathy than Taxotere in people diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.
Why do the study
Peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of Taxol (usually given weekly) and Taxotere (usually given every three weeks). Research shows that Black women with early-stage breast cancer who receive Taxol weekly tend to have higher rates of neuropathy than white women on the same treatment. This side effect can lead to lower doses of the medicine being prescribed, which may lead to a high risk of the cancer coming back (recurrence).
About the study
The study included 239 Black women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. About half the women received Taxol every week. The other half received Taxotere every three weeks.
Detailed results
A lower percentage of women receiving Taxotere reported moderate to severe neuropathy compared to women receiving Taxol.
25% of women receiving Taxotere and 44% of women receiving Taxol had neuropathy, according to assessments made by doctors.
24% of women receiving Taxotere and 40% of women receiving Taxol had neuropathy, according to reports by the women.
The differences in neuropathy rates were statistically significant, which means they were likely due to the difference in treatment and not just because of chance.
The percentage of women who had to receive a lower dose of medicine due to neuropathy was lower for women receiving Taxotere (8.5%) than for women receiving Taxol (28.1%). Dose reduction rates for any reason also were lower in women who received Taxotere.
After two years of follow-up, the researchers found no differences in recurrence-free survival or overall survival between the two treatment groups:
93% of women receiving Taxotere and 88% of women receiving Taxol were alive with no recurrence
95% of the women receiving Taxotere and 96% of women receiving Taxol were alive, whether or not the cancer had come back
“This trial does have important implications for Black women with early-stage breast cancer,” said Tarah Ballinger, MD, medical director of breast cancer prevention at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, who presented the research. “Every three-week docetaxel may be a better option in Black patients, where neuropathy is more common, severe, and impacts disease outcomes.”
Other results
The researchers wanted to see if certain genetic mutations might increase risk of neuropathy in response to chemotherapy.
About 76% of the women had a mutation linked to a high risk of neuropathy
About 24% of the women had a mutation linked to a low risk of neuropathy
They found that there were no differences in rates of neuropathy between women with a mutation linked to a high risk of the condition and women with a mutation linked to a low risk of the condition.
Learn more
For related information about neuropathy, listen to the episode of The Breastcancer.org Podcast featuring Marisa Weiss, MD, founder and chief medical officer of Breastcancer.org, explaining how taxanes cause neuropathy and discussing her research on a cannabis product to ease neuropathy.
Ballinger, T. et al. ECOG-ACRIN EAZ171: Prospective validation trial of germline variants and taxane type in association with taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) in Black women with early-stage breast cancer. 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. Abstract LBA503.
— Last updated on September 4, 2024 at 6:44 PM
This content made possible, in part, by a grant from Lilly.