Women with breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes appear to benefit by taking four additional cycles of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel after a standard course of chemotherapy, according to researchers reporting in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The researchers conducted a study involving more than 3,200 women who after surgery received a combination of cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin, followed by either no further therapy or four cycles of paclitaxel.

They reported that after five years of followup, the disease-free survival for those who received the paclitaxel was 70 percent compared to 65 percent for women who did not receive the additional therapy.

Overall survival for the women who received paclitaxel was 80 percent after five years compared to 77 percent for those who did not receive the treatment, the researchers reported. The additional toxicity from adding four cycles of paclitaxel was found to be generally modest.

"The addition of four cycles of paclitaxel after the completion of a standard course of chemotherapy improves the disease-free and overall survival of patients with early breast cancer," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: Journal of Clinical Oncology