Safely Stopping Pre-medications in Patients With Breast Cancer Who Are Receiving Paclitaxel

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To estimate the difference in rates of infusion hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) requiring parenteral rescue medications following the discontinuation of pre-medications after 2 doses of paclitaxel, compared to continuing premedications, in breast cancer patients who have not experienced an infusion HSR with their first 2 paclitaxel doses.

OUTLINE:

Patients receive paclitaxel per standard of care as a single agent or in combination with dexamethasone intravenously (IV) and/or orally (PO), diphenhydramine IV and/or PO and either famotidine IV and/or PO, ranitidine IV and/or PO or cimetidine IV and/or PO. Patients who don't experience any infusion hypersensitivity reaction after the first 2 doses of paclitaxel are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I (STANDARD OF CARE): Patients continue on pre-medications (dexamethasone, diphenhydramine, famotidine/ranitidine/cimetidine) with all future doses of paclitaxel.

ARM II (EXPERIMENTAL): Patients discontinue premedications (dexamethasone, diphenhydramine, famotidine/ranitidine/cimetidine) with all future doses of paclitaxel, unless patient develops a subsequent infusion HSR.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients scheduled to receive at least 4 doses of paclitaxel as a single-agent or in combination with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, bevacizumab, pembrolizumab, lapatinib, gemcitabine or other drug combination (excluding cisplatin or carboplatin) for the treatment of any stage, histologically confirmed breast cancer
• Ability to complete questionnaires by themselves or with assistance
• Life expectancy > 6 months
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2
• Age >= 18
• Able to give informed consent
• Patients must be scheduled to receive prophylactic HSR premedications (IV or oral) consisting of a histamine-1 (H1) antagonist (diphenhydramine) or cetirizine (a histamine-1 (H1) antagonists), dexamethasone (a steroid) and a either famotidine, ranitidine or cimetidine (histamine-2 (H2) antagonists), per institutional guidelines, prior to each of their first 2 doses of paclitaxel
• Patients may enroll, or currently be enrolled in another concurrent clinical trial provided the other trial would not prohibit the discontinuation of paclitaxel premedications

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who have received at least 1 prior lifetime dose of paclitaxel or paclitaxel albumin-bound
• Patients receiving paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin or cisplatin (due to risk of hypersensitivity with platinum compounds)
• History of grade 3 hypersensitivity reaction to Cremophor EL containing medications (e.g. paclitaxel, cyclosporine, ixabepilone, teniposide)
• Patients receiving therapeutic daily doses of systemic corticosteroids. Intermittent oral steroids for nausea or for acute inflammatory conditions (i.e. methylprednisolone dosepak) and inhaled, intranasal or topical corticosteroids are permitted
• Patients who are pregnant or nursing. Paclitaxel is classified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as "pregnancy category D". Pregnancy testing (urine or blood human chorionic gonadotropin [Hcg]) will be done and documented prior to enrollment if pregnancy is clinically suspected