In vitro activity of taxol and taxotere in comparison with doxorubicin and cisplatin on primary cell cultures of human breast cancers.

The in vitro activities of taxol and taxotere in comparison with cisplatin and doxorubicin were assessed in 30 primary tumor cultures from human breast cancers. Both taxanes were much more potent than cisplatin and doxorubicin. Taxotere was 3.1; 296, and 9.6-fold more cytotoxic than taxol, cisplatin, and doxorubicin respectively. The cytotoxic activity observed in our experiments confirms the potential clinical relevance of the two taxanes in the management of breast cancer.