IMPACT OF THE COMBINATION OF DOXORUBICIN, CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE, AND DOCETAXEL ON CA 15-3 BIOMARKER LEVELS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN DELAYED AND NON-DELAYED CHEMOTHERAPY

FITRI HANDAYANI; NAJMIATUL FITRIA; YELLY OKTAVIA SARI; ALMAHDY A.

doi:10.22159/ijap.2025.v17s1.12

Authors

FITRI HANDAYANI Postgraduate Student, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Sumatera Barat-25175, Indonesia. Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Samarinda, Samarinda, Kalimantan Timur-75124, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6675-5284
NAJMIATUL FITRIA Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Sumatera Barat-25175, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6675-5284
YELLY OKTAVIA SARI Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Sumatera Barat-25175, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8471-7054
ALMAHDY A. Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Sumatera Barat-25175, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2025.v17s1.12

Keywords:

Anthracycline, Cyclophosphamide, Taxane, Eight cycles, CA 15-3, delayed, non-delayed, Breast cancer

Abstract

Objective: A significant issue in breast cancer diagnosis is the delay in both diagnosis and treatment, known as a delay factor. This study compares CA 15-3 biomarker levels in breast cancer patients undergoing eight cycles of Anthracycline (Doxorubicin) and Cyclophosphamide followed by Taxane (Docetaxel) (AC-T), focusing on differences between those receiving delayed versus non-delayed chemotherapy.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 36 breast cancer patients from a total population of 191 who received chemotherapy from August 2022 to April 2024. Eligible patients were women with HER2-negative breast cancer treated with a combination regimen of AC for 4 cycles followed by T for 4 cycles per hospital protocol. Patients were categorized into delayed factors group if diagnosed at advanced stages (IIIB, IIIC, IV) and if chemotherapy was initiated later, while those diagnosed and treated at early stages (0-IIIA) were classified as non-delay factors. Clinicopathological data and CA 15-3 levels (pre-and post-neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy) were extracted from the Management Information System of Dr. M. Djamil Hospital in Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia.

Results: Neoadjuvant therapy led to an average CA 15-3 increase of-4.70 µ/ml in delayed factor patients and a decrease of 5.15 µ/ml in non-delayed factor patients (p=0.001). Adjuvant therapy resulted in an average CA 15-3 increase of-14.82 µ/ml in delayed factor patients and a decrease of 13.30 µ/ml in non-delayed factor patients (p=0.030). A negative value indicates that the CA 15-3 level is higher post-chemotherapy compared to pre-chemotherapy.

Conclusion: The administration of the AC-T combination, both as neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy over eight cycles, demonstrated a more favorable impact on CA 15-3 biomarker levels in non-delayed patients compared to those experiencing delays.

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