Key clinical point: A neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen with three cycles of fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide followed by three cycles of docetaxel (FEC3 ‑D3) had comparable survival outcomes as four cycles of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide followed by four cycles of docetaxel (AC4 ‑D4) in patients with stage II/III breast cancer (BC).
Major finding: In the FEC3-D3 vs AC4-D4 treatment group, the pathological complete response rate was 12.4% vs 14.3%, respectively, and the 3-year disease-free survival rate was comparable (75.8% vs 75.6%). Grade 3/4 neutropenia was the most common adverse event in both groups (~20%).
Study details: Findings are from the phase 3, Neo-shorter study including 248 patients with stage II/III BC who were randomly assigned to receive FEC3-D3 or AC4-D4.
Disclosures: This study was supported by Sanofi-Aventis. Two authors declared serving as consultants, founders, or advisors; owning stocks in; or receiving research funding from various sources, including Sanofi. Other authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Hwang I et al. Randomized phase III trial of a neoadjuvant regimen of four cycles of adriamycin plus cyclophosphamide followed by four cycles of docetaxel (AC4-D4) versus a shorter treatment of three cycles of FEC followed by three cycles of docetaxel (FEC3-D3) in node-positive breast cancer (Neo-shorter; NCT02001506). Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023 (Jun 26). Doi: 10.1007/s10549-023-06971-7