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Standard HER2 Regimen Still Going Strong

— Seven-year relapse-free interval of 97.5% with paclitaxel-trastuzumab

MedpageToday

Long-term follow-up in a large phase II trial of early HER2-positive breast cancer showed high rates of disease control and survival with a longstanding standard regimen.

Treatment with adjuvant paclitaxel and trastuzumab (Herceptin) led to a 7-year disease-free survival (DFS) of 93% and overall survival (OS) of 95%. Additionally, 97.5% of the 410 patients remained relapse-free for at least 7 years, according to Sara M. Tolaney, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues.

An exploratory analysis identified one variant associated with an increased risk of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy, they reported in the .

The findings showed little change since the 4 years ago and were consistent with long-term follow-up data from large pivotal trials that showed "dramatic and sustained benefit" with the addition of trastuzumab to standard chemotherapy for early HER2-positive breast cancer.

"The updated data are suggesting that the low event rate initially seen with shorter follow-up has held up with longer follow-up," Tolaney told 51˶. "I think it was particularly relevant in this trial because the majority of patients had hormone-receptor positive, HER2-positive disease, where we know these patients can experience later recurrences than those patients who have hormone receptor-negative disease."

"I think it was important to show that the low event rate holds with longer follow-up. I think this regimen was adopted to see whether a fairly standard regimen could be used for patients with stage I HER2-positive tumors after the initial presentation. These findings helped confirm that it's a reasonable approach for stage I patients," she added.

The findings came from the prospective, multicenter Adjuvant Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab (APT) trial. When trial enrollment began in 2007, retrospective data suggested that patients with small node-negative HER2-positive tumors had recurrence rates as high as 30%. Randomized trials of adjuvant trastuzumab included few patients with stage I disease, providing a rationale for the APT study, the first trial that specifically addressed appropriate treatment for patients with small, node-negative HER2-positive breast cancer, the authors noted.

A single-arm design was adopted because of investigators' belief that a randomized trial would not be feasible, given data suggesting increased risk of recurrence for the patient population. Additionally, no standard treatment existed at the time for patients with small node-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer, Tolaney and colleagues continued.

Eligible patients had pathologically confirmed HER2-positive tumors, primary tumor size ≤3 cm, and no lymph-node involvement. Approximately 2 years into enrollment (n=188), investigators amended the protocol to include patients with a single micrometastatic node. Patient accrual ended in September 2010. The trial had a primary endpoint of DFS.

The patients had a median age of 55, and 67% had hormone receptor (HR)-positive disease. Half the patients had tumors ≤1 cm, and 9% had tumors 2-3 cm. The mean tumor size was 1.1 cm.

The first report from the APT trial, after a median follow-up of 4 years, showed a 3-year invasive DFS of 98.7%. The updated analysis occurred after a median follow-up of 6.5 years, during which time 23 DFS events occurred: five locoregional recurrences, four distant recurrences, six new contralateral breast cancers, and eight deaths without disease recurrence. The 7-year DFS of 93.3% included 94.6% in patients with HR-positive tumors and 90.7% in the HR-negative subgroup. Key secondary outcomes at 7 years included:

  • Relapse-free interval: 97.5%
  • Breast cancer-specific survival: 98.6%
  • OS: 95%

Using tumor specimens, investigators determined risk of recurrence scores for 264 patients. They characterized nine (3.4%) samples as low risk, 56 (21.2%) as intermediate risk, and 199 (75.4%) as high risk.

The exploratory analysis of taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) included genetic data for 230 patients. Overall, 24 patients developed grade ≥2 TIPN; no grade 4 neurotoxicity occurred in the subgroup or in the overall study population. Evaluation of 50 single nucleotide polymorphisms showed that one (rs3012437) was associated with an increased risk of grade ≥2 TIPN.

As part of ongoing drug development, clinical trials are evaluating potentially less toxic therapies for patients with lower-risk disease, said Tolaney. Results of a trial comparing T-DM1 (Kadcyla) with the paclitaxel-trastuzumab regimen will likely be reported before the end of 2019.

"Trastuzumab has remained a staple in our approach to patients with HER2-positive disease," she said "Having said that, I think we're learning there might be more potent anti-HER2 therapies that are emerging, particularly antibody-drug conjugates, that might be able to provide highly effective therapy and potentially replace chemotherapy and trastuzumab."

"I'm hoping that the field continues to evolve, because I think the goal is to provide the right amount of therapy to the right patient. We'd like to avoid overtreating patients, particularly with these lower-risk tumors," she stated.

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    Charles Bankhead is senior editor for oncology and also covers urology, dermatology, and ophthalmology. He joined 51˶ in 2007.

Disclosures

The APT trial was supported by Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Genentech.

Tolaney disclosedrelevant relationships with Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly, Nektar Therapeutics, NanoString Technologies, AstraZeneca, Puma Biotechnology, Genentech, Eisai, Immunomedics, Sanofi, Tesaro, Celldex Therapeutics, Merck, Exelixis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Celacel. Co-authors disclosed multiple relevatn relationships with industry.

Primary Source

Journal of Clinical Oncology

Tolaney SM et al "Seven-year follow-up analysis of adjuvant paclitaxel and trastuzumab trial for node-negative, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer" J Clin Oncol 2017;37:1868-1875.