# Effects of Modifying Supportive Care Medications in Combination Therapy with Pertuzumab, Trastuzumab, and Taxane Anticancer Drugs

## TL;DR

This study examines how changing supportive care medications affects side effects in breast cancer patients receiving combination therapy with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and taxane drugs.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the impact of discontinuing antipyretic analgesics on side effect frequency and severity in combination cancer therapy.

## Key findings

- Discontinuing antipyretic analgesics had little effect on the frequency of side effects.
- Symptoms like feeling hot and flushed increased in severity after modifying supportive care drugs.
- The study suggests premedication with antipyretic analgesics may be necessary to manage certain symptoms.

## Abstract

Chemotherapy for breast cancer includes pertuzumab and trastuzumab regimens with docetaxel (PHD) or paclitaxel (PHP). Current approaches for using supportive care drugs to manage the side effects of PHD and PHP are unclear. Here, we investigated the occurrence of side effects before and after supportive care medications were modified by discontinuing antipyretic analgesics. We retrospectively analyzed adverse events that occurred within 24 h of treating 76 patients with PHD or PHP. The frequencies of adverse effects in the groups before and after modification did not differ significantly (45.5% [15/33] and 44.2% [19/43], respectively). Severity also did not significantly differ between the groups. Therefore, discontinuing antipyretic analgesics as supportive care drugs had little effect on the frequency of side effects. Symptoms of feeling hot, pyrexic, and flushed were frequent, and their severity increased in the group after the support drugs were modified. Discontinuation of supportive care medications, including antipyretic analgesics, might affect the severity of certain symptoms and lead to the development of side effects that require medical intervention. Overall, our findings indicate the need to consider premedication with antipyretic analgesics, including further analysis of the risk factors that can predict symptoms.