Long and short-term efficacy and safety comparison of nab-paclitaxel versus paclitaxel combined with trastuzumab and pertuzumab for neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction

Direct comparisons between nab-paclitaxel and solvent-based taxanes are scarce, with inconsistent results from mostly retrospective studies. High-level evidence comparing their efficacy in HER2-positive breast cancer remains lacking. Our study represents the first systematic review and meta-analysis to directly compare the long-term and short-term efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel versus solvent-based paclitaxel in combination with trastuzumab and pertuzumab for neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.

Methods

We performed a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang, and VIP databases to identify relevant studies published up to February 10, 2025. The search focused on studies involving patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who had not undergone prior treatments for their condition. These studies compared neoadjuvant therapies using either nab-paclitaxel-based chemotherapy (Nab-p arm) or solvent-based paclitaxel-based chemotherapy (Sb-p arm), both combined with pertuzumab and trastuzumab. The primary outcomes measured were event-free survival, disease-free survival, overall survival, and total pathological complete response. Secondary outcomes included objective response rate and adverse events. The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE methodology.

Results

A total of six studies, including 3 RCTs, 1 prospective cohort study and 2 real-world studies, involving 1556 patients were included. The Nab-p arm demonstrated numerically more favorable EFS, DFS compared to the Sb-p arm. There was no significant difference in OS between the Nab-p arm and the Sb-p arm. The Nab-p arm showed significant improvements in pCR (RR: 1.18, 95 % CI: 1.08–1.29, p < 0.001), pCR (with only RCTs) (RR: 1.13, 95 % CI: 1.03–1.24, p = 0.009), and ORR (RR: 1.30, 95 % CI: 1.07–1.57, p = 0.007) compared to the Sb-p arm. The Nab-p arm showed a lower grade III/IV diarrhea rate (RR: 0.59, 95 % CI: 0.42–0.83, p = 0.003), grade III/IV thrombocytopenia rate (RR: 0.46, 95 % CI: 0.24–0.89, p = 0.02), grade I/II allergic reactions rate (RR: 0.60, 95 % CI: 0.46–0.78, p < 0.001) and grade III/IV allergic reactions rate (RR: 0.33, 95 % CI: 0.14–0.82, p = 0.02), compared to the Sb-p arm. The Nab-p arm showed a higher grade I/II neuropathy rate (RR: 1.21, 95 % CI: 1.12–1.30, p < 0.001) and grade III/IV neuropathy rate (RR: 2.61, 95 % CI: 1.23–5.52, p = 0.001), compared to the Sb-p arm.The outcome of pCR had moderate-quality evidence and the outcome of pCR (with only RCTs) had high-quality evidence.

Conclusions

Nab-paclitaxel exhibits short-term efficacy advantages over paclitaxel, but no significant long-term benefits. The two regimens have different safety profile.