Pharmacologic de-escalation of dexamethasone during weekly paclitaxel: a randomized phase III trial evaluating safety, endocrine effects, and quality of life

OBJECTIVE: Dexamethasone is routinely used as premedication during weekly paclitaxel to prevent hypersensitivity reactions; however, prolonged corticosteroid exposure may induce clinically relevant metabolic, endocrine, and patient-reported adverse effects. This study evaluated whether selective omission of dexamethasone after the second paclitaxel infusion is safe and explored its effects on quality of life, metabolic/endocrine parameters, and short-term oncologic outcomes, including recurrence and disease-related mortality. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, open-label phase III trial, 86 women with stage I-III breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant or adjuvant AC-T or AC-TH chemotherapy were randomized 1:1 to standard dexamethasone premedication or omission after the second weekly paclitaxel infusion. The primary endpoint was safety, defined by hypersensitivity reactions and adverse events. Secondary and exploratory endpoints included patient-reported quality of life using the EORTC QLQ-C30, metabolic and endocrine parameters, and short-term oncologic outcomes. Longitudinal changes were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Eighty-four patients were included in the final analysis. No hypersensitivity reactions occurred after dexamethasone omission, and treatment completion rates were comparable between groups. After a median follow-up of 3.15 years, recurrence and disease-related mortality were similar between groups in descriptive analyses. The omission strategy was associated with improvements in role functioning and reduced worsening of pain (p = 0.02), constipation (p = 0.01), and nausea/vomiting (p = 0.03). No statistically significant differences were observed for emotional or physical functioning. Endocrine analyses demonstrated reduced IGF-1 levels and a trend toward lower insulin levels. These secondary analyses should be interpreted as exploratory. CONCLUSION: Selective omission of dexamethasone after the second weekly paclitaxel infusion was safe and well tolerated in this randomized trial. The findings support the feasibility of a corticosteroid-sparing strategy during weekly paclitaxel and suggest potential benefits in selected patient-reported and endocrine outcomes, which warrant confirmation in larger studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04350229, registered on 16 April 2020.