Ixabepilone: new perspectives for its use in breast cancer

Abstract

Despite significant advances in recent years, the drug therapy for breast cancer (BC) is still based on chemotherapy. The introduction of new effective cytostatic agents with a favorable toxicity profile is likely to remain an urgent objective for modern pharmacology in oncology. Ixabepilone, first in a new class of antineoplastic agents, the epothilones, has demonstrated high efficacy in the treatment of breast cancer both in its early stages and in patients, who have received 2 or more lines of chemotherapy. The article discusses the results of major studies, as well as the last meta-analysis of Ixabepilone studies in locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer. It presents the results of two large randomized studies of Ixabepilone in adjuvant regimens in patients with early breast cancer with an unfavourable prognosis.