Receipt of a taxane before anthracycline was associated with improved pCR : 82 ( 20 % , 95 % CI 16-24 ) of 406 patients who received paclitaxel with or without gemcitabine followed by epirubicin and cyclophosphamide achieved pCR compared with 59 ( 15 % , 11-18 ) of 406 patients who received epirubicin and cyclophosphamide first ( p = 003 ) .