The Breast : official journal of the European Society of Mastology
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Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients with rapid disease relapse after neo/adjuvant chemotherapy including anthracyclines and taxanes have limited treatment options and their efficacy is marginal. Two phase III studies compared ixabepilone plus capecitabine vs. capecitabine alone as first-line treatment in MBC patients pretreated with anthracyclines and taxanes in the neo/adjuvant setting. Here we report the efficacy and safety of these treatments in a prespecified subset of patients whose disease relapsed within 12 months. ⋯ Patients with breast cancer with early relapse following neo/adjuvant treatment with anthracyclines and taxanes may benefit from ixabepilone plus capecitabine. (ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT00080301 and NCT00082433.).