Comparison Of One-Day Premedication For Tac Chemotherapy With Three-Day Regimen For Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

621 Background: Oral corticosteroids are known to be given for three days to the patients having TAC (docetaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy in node-positive breast cancer to prevent severe fluid retension. But most patients have been complaining of much weight gain after the use of corticosteroids more than 10 kilograms. We tried to determine whether 24-hour corticosteroid medication (8 mg, bid) is adequate enough to prevent severe fluid retension, instead of using full three-day premedications. Methods: Between Jan. 2006 and Oct. 2007, 80 node-positive patients were randomly assigned either into one-day premedication (group A) or three-day premedication (group B) only after getting informed consent since all the protocols were reviewed by IRB. One-day premedication was meant to give 10 mg corticosteroid the night befiore the chemotherapy, and 10 mg corticosteroids (bid) were given for the day 1 of TAC chemotherapy. Results: There was one case of moderate fluid retension in both lower extremities in group A. No severe fluid retension occurred in both groups. Weight gain between two groups were not different. Conclusions: Even though this result should not be adopted into the general patient population, we think that more larger prospective trials should be initiated to determine abbreviated duration of corticosteroid premedication may be adequate to prevent severe fluid retension without compromising whole chemotherapeutic treatment cycles and oncologic outcomes, while providing more comfortable way of life to each patient having TAC chemotherapy. No significant financial relationships to disclose.