Comparison of Efficacy Between Nab-Paclitaxel or Docetaxel Combined with Carboplatin as Neoadjuvant Therapy for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy of trastuzumab plus pertuzumab (HP) combined with either nab-paclitaxel plus carboplatin or docetaxel plus carboplatin as neoadjuvant therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer in real-world clinical practice. MethodsClinical data of HER2-positive breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant therapy with either HP combined with nab-paclitaxel plus carboplatin or HP combined with docetaxel plus carboplatin and subsequently underwent surgery were retrospectively collected from 11 tertiary grade-A hospitals in Hebei Province from June 2019 to December 2021. The total pathological complete response (tpCR) rates of the two groups were compared. ResultsA total of 76 patients were included in the study, with 47 in the nab-paclitaxel group and 29 in the docetaxel group. The tpCR rate was significantly higher in the nab-paclitaxel group than that in the docetaxel group (72.3% vs. 48.3%, χ2=4.463, P=0.035). Subgroup analysis indicated that patients older than 40 years, with cN2-3, cTNM stage Ⅲ, hormone receptor-positive status, and Ki67>30% had significantly higher tpCR rates in the nab-paclitaxel group than those in the docetaxel group (P<0.05). ConclusionIn real-world clinical practice, the efficacy of HP combined with nab-paclitaxel plus carboplatin as neoadjuvant therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer is superior to that of HP combined with docetaxel plus carboplatin.