Vinegar Saves Lives in Cervix Cancer
Vinegar Saves Lives in Cervix Cancer
Dr. Markman: Let's turn to the opposite end of the spectrum, the old drug paclitaxel and how to use it. Another study looked at weekly paclitaxel vs every 3 weeks -- this time not from Japan from where we had data previously but from Western Europe. What was your take on that study?
Dr. Coleman: I like that combination. I like the idea of a fractionated taxane. It makes sense. We have good data in the lab, which is important. It elicits another angiogenesis avenue for targeting. In this particular study they also fractionated the platinum. They were trying to show in a different patient population, using a fractionated scheme, that there would be a similar effect. There were some subtle differences between the studies. One was the platinum fractionation. The other was that the dose of the taxane was reduced from 80 mg/m to 60 mg/m. But they both used the every-21-day schedule without a break. With a reduced dose of the taxane and the carboplatin fractionation, more patients were able to stay on treatment without having to have the dose modifications that they saw in the Japanese cohort. But overall, the results were not quite as impressive. There were certainly trends in that direction, and for quality of life there was a benefit.
Dr. Markman: We can conclude that weekly paclitaxel appears to be a viable option. One question that people had about the Japanese study was whether weekly paclitaxel was beneficial in an Asian population but perhaps not in a Western European Caucasian population. This study answers that question: Weekly paclitaxel makes a lot of sense.
Better Tolerance for 'Old Friend' Paclitaxel
Dr. Markman: Let's turn to the opposite end of the spectrum, the old drug paclitaxel and how to use it. Another study looked at weekly paclitaxel vs every 3 weeks -- this time not from Japan from where we had data previously but from Western Europe. What was your take on that study?
Dr. Coleman: I like that combination. I like the idea of a fractionated taxane. It makes sense. We have good data in the lab, which is important. It elicits another angiogenesis avenue for targeting. In this particular study they also fractionated the platinum. They were trying to show in a different patient population, using a fractionated scheme, that there would be a similar effect. There were some subtle differences between the studies. One was the platinum fractionation. The other was that the dose of the taxane was reduced from 80 mg/m to 60 mg/m. But they both used the every-21-day schedule without a break. With a reduced dose of the taxane and the carboplatin fractionation, more patients were able to stay on treatment without having to have the dose modifications that they saw in the Japanese cohort. But overall, the results were not quite as impressive. There were certainly trends in that direction, and for quality of life there was a benefit.
Dr. Markman: We can conclude that weekly paclitaxel appears to be a viable option. One question that people had about the Japanese study was whether weekly paclitaxel was beneficial in an Asian population but perhaps not in a Western European Caucasian population. This study answers that question: Weekly paclitaxel makes a lot of sense.
