Overall survival in Japanese patients with ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer treated with first-line palbociclib plus letrozole

Breast Cancer. 2024 Jan;31(1):53-62. doi: 10.1007/s12282-023-01511-z. Epub 2023 Oct 26.

Abstract

Background: An open-label, single-arm, Japanese phase 2 study (J-Ph2) investigated the efficacy and safety of first-line (1L) palbociclib (PAL) + letrozole (LET) in postmenopausal Japanese women with ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (ABC). In the final analysis, median progression-free survival was 35.7 months (95% CI 21.7-46.7); but overall survival (OS) data were immature. Here, we report the findings from a follow-up study of J-Ph2 (NCT04735367) evaluating OS and subsequent therapy in these Japanese women.

Methods: Patients (N = 42) who participated in J-Ph2 were enrolled in the OS follow-up study. The primary endpoint was OS and secondary endpoints included type and duration of subsequent therapy.

Results: Patients were a median age of 62.5 years; 48% had visceral metastases. At a median follow-up of 89.7 months, the median OS was 85.4 months (95% CI 64.3-not estimable). Median OS was longer in patients with nonvisceral versus visceral metastases (not reached vs 67.3 months), or with treatment-free interval > 12 months versus ≤ 12 months (85.4 vs 45.4 months), or with treatment duration ≥ 24 months versus < 24 months (not reached vs 47.5 months). Of patients who received a first subsequent therapy (81%), most (67%) continued endocrine-based therapy, while 7% received chemotherapy. The median duration of the first subsequent therapy was 8.3 months (95% CI 3.9-12.2), and the median chemotherapy-free survival was 69.1 months (95% CI 24.2-85.4).

Conclusions: In this population of Japanese women with ER+/HER2- ABC, median OS was over 7 years with 1L PAL + LET, supporting the use of 1L PAL + endocrine therapy.

Trial number: NCT04735367.

Keywords: Breast cancer; ER+/HER2−; Japan; Overall survival; Palbociclib.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Letrozole / therapeutic use
  • Middle Aged
  • Receptor, ErbB-2

Substances

  • Letrozole
  • palbociclib
  • Receptor, ErbB-2

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT04735367