Differential Benefit of Adjuvant Docetaxel-Based Chemotherapy in Patients With Early Breast Cancer According to Baseline Body Mass Index

PURPOSE Lipophilic drugs, such as taxanes, have a high affinity for adipose tissue and a resulting higher volume of distribution. Here, we reanalyzed clinical trial data to investigate whether the efficacy of docetaxel-based chemotherapy differs from non-docetaxel-based chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer according to their baseline body mass index (BMI). PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed data from all of the patients in the adjuvant BIG 2-98 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier:; N=2,887) comparing non-docetaxel- to docetaxel-containing chemotherapy. BMI (kg/m(2)) was categorized as follows: 18.5 to <25, lean; 25 to <30, overweight; and >= 30, obese. Disease-free survival (DFS) was the primary endpoint, and overall survival (OS) was the secondary endpoint. A second-order interaction was assessed among treatment, BMI, and estrogen receptor (ER) status. RESULTS There was no difference in DFS or OS according to BMI in the non-docetaxel group, while reduced DFS and OS were observed with increasing BMI category in the docetaxel group. Adjusted hazard ratios for DFS and OS were, respectively, 1.12 (95% CI, 0.98 to 1.50;P=.21) and 1.27 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.60;P=.04) for overweight versus lean groups and were 1.32 (95% CI, 1.08 to 1.62;P=.007) and 1.63 (95% CI, 1.27 to 2.09; P<.001), respectively, for obese versus lean groups. Similar results were obtained when considering ER-negative and ER-positive tumors separately and when considering only patients who received a relative dose intensity >= 85% for docetaxel. A joint modifying role of BMI and ER status on treatment effect was evident for DFS (adjusted P=.06) and OS (adjusted P=.04). CONCLUSION This retrospective analysis of a large adjuvant trial highlights a differential response to docetaxel according to BMI, which calls for a body composition-based re-evaluation of the risk-benefit ratio of the use of taxanes in breast cancer. These results now must be confirmed in additional series.