A Phase II Combination of Trastuzumab and Ixabepilone Versus Trastuzumab and Docetaxel in Patients With Advanced and/or Metastatic Breast Cancer

"Ixabepilone 40 mg/m\^2 was administered as a 3-hour I.V. continuous infusion on Day 1 in a 21-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.~For the first cycle, ixabepilone was administered the day following the first dose of trastuzumab (in the first cycle trastuzumab was given on Day 0); in all the following cycles, ixabepilone was administered immediately after the subsequent doses of trastuzumab if the preceding dose of trastuzumab was well tolerated."

Docetaxel 100 mg/m\^2 was administered as a 1-hour IV continuous infusion on Day 1 in a 21-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. For the first cycle, docetaxel was administered the day following the first dose of trastuzumab (i.e. in the first cycle trastuzumab was given on Day 0); in all following cycles, docetaxel was administered immediately after trastuzumab if the preceding dose of trastuzumab was well tolerated.

Trastuzumab was administered as an IV infusion on Days 1, 8, and 15 of each 21-day cycle at a dose of 2 mg/kg until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. In cycle 1, a loading dose of 4 mg/kg was administered as a 90-minute IV infusion on a day before initial administration of chemotherapy (i.e. on Day 0). Trastuzumab was given immediately prior to ixabepilone (Arm A) or docetaxel (Arm B) in all subsequent cycles as a 30-minute IV infusion if the initial dose was well tolerated.