John Crown

BACKGROUND: Lapatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2, also referred to as HER2/neu) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is active in combination with capecitabine in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after trastuzumab-based therapy. In this trial, we compared lapatinib plus capecitabine with capecitabine alone in such patients. METHODS: Women with HER2-positive, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer that had progressed after treatment with regimens that included an anthracycline, a taxane, and trastuzumab were randomly assigned to receive either combination therapy (lapatinib at a dose of 1250 mg per day continuously plus capecitabine at a dose of 2000 mg per square meter of body-surface area on days 1 through 14 of a 21-day cycle) or monotherapy (capecitabine alone at a dose of 2500 mg per square meter on days 1 through 14 of a 21-day cycle). The primary end point was time to progression, based on an evaluation by independent reviewers under blinded conditions. RESULTS: The interim analysis of time to progression met specified criteria for early reporting on the basis of superiority in the combination-therapy group. The hazard ratio for the independently assessed time to progression was 0.49 (95% confidence interval, 0.34 to 0.71; P<0.001), with 49 events in the combination-therapy group and 72 events in the monotherapy group. The median time to progression was 8.4 months in the combination-therapy group as compared with 4.4 months in the monotherapy group. This improvement was achieved without an increase in serious toxic effects or symptomatic cardiac events. CONCLUSIONS: Lapatinib plus capecitabine is superior to capecitabine alone in women with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer that has progressed after treatment with regimens that included an anthracycline, a taxane, and trastuzumab. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00078572 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).

BACKGROUND: Trastuzumab improves survival in the adjuvant treatment of HER-positive breast cancer, although combined therapy with anthracycline-based regimens has been associated with cardiac toxicity. We wanted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new nonanthracycline regimen with trastuzumab. METHODS: We randomly assigned 3222 women with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer to receive doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by docetaxel every 3 weeks (AC-T), the same regimen plus 52 weeks of trastuzumab (AC-T plus trastuzumab), or docetaxel and carboplatin plus 52 weeks of trastuzumab (TCH). The primary study end point was disease-free survival. Secondary end points were overall survival and safety. RESULTS: At a median follow-up of 65 months, 656 events triggered this protocol-specified analysis. The estimated disease-free survival rates at 5 years were 75% among patients receiving AC-T, 84% among those receiving AC-T plus trastuzumab, and 81% among those receiving TCH. Estimated rates of overall survival were 87%, 92%, and 91%, respectively. No significant differences in efficacy (disease-free or overall survival) were found between the two trastuzumab regimens, whereas both were superior to AC-T. The rates of congestive heart failure and cardiac dysfunction were significantly higher in the group receiving AC-T plus trastuzumab than in the TCH group (P<0.001). Eight cases of acute leukemia were reported: seven in the groups receiving the anthracycline-based regimens and one in the TCH group subsequent to receiving an anthracycline outside the study. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab significantly improved disease-free and overall survival among women with HER2-positive breast cancer. The risk-benefit ratio favored the nonanthracycline TCH regimen over AC-T plus trastuzumab, given its similar efficacy, fewer acute toxic effects, and lower risks of cardiotoxicity and leukemia. (Funded by Sanofi-Aventis and Genentech; BCIRG-006 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00021255.).

BACKGROUND: Patients who have residual invasive breast cancer after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy have a worse prognosis than those who have no residual cancer. Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), an antibody-drug conjugate of trastuzumab and the cytotoxic agent emtansine (DM1), a maytansine derivative and microtubule inhibitor, provides benefit in patients with metastatic breast cancer that was previously treated with chemotherapy plus HER2-targeted therapy. METHODS: We conducted a phase 3, open-label trial involving patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who were found to have residual invasive disease in the breast or axilla at surgery after receiving neoadjuvant therapy containing a taxane (with or without anthracycline) and trastuzumab. Patients were randomly assigned to receive adjuvant T-DM1 or trastuzumab for 14 cycles. The primary end point was invasive disease-free survival (defined as freedom from ipsilateral invasive breast tumor recurrence, ipsilateral locoregional invasive breast cancer recurrence, contralateral invasive breast cancer, distant recurrence, or death from any cause). RESULTS: At the interim analysis, among 1486 randomly assigned patients (743 in the T-DM1 group and 743 in the trastuzumab group), invasive disease or death had occurred in 91 patients in the T-DM1 group (12.2%) and 165 patients in the trastuzumab group (22.2%). The estimated percentage of patients who were free of invasive disease at 3 years was 88.3% in the T-DM1 group and 77.0% in the trastuzumab group. Invasive disease-free survival was significantly higher in the T-DM1 group than in the trastuzumab group (hazard ratio for invasive disease or death, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.39 to 0.64; P<0.001). Distant recurrence as the first invasive-disease event occurred in 10.5% of patients in the T-DM1 group and 15.9% of those in the trastuzumab group. The safety data were consistent with the known safety profile of T-DM1, with more adverse events associated with T-DM1 than with trastuzumab alone. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who had residual invasive disease after completion of neoadjuvant therapy, the risk of recurrence of invasive breast cancer or death was 50% lower with adjuvant T-DM1 than with trastuzumab alone. (Funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech; KATHERINE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01772472 .).

PURPOSE: Previous preclinical and clinical data suggest that the immune system influences prognosis and response to chemotherapy (CT); however, clinical relevance has yet to be established in breast cancer (BC). We hypothesized that increased lymphocytic infiltration would be associated with good prognosis and benefit from immunogenic CT-in this case, anthracycline-only CT-in selected BC subtypes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated the relationship between quantity and location of lymphocytic infiltrate at diagnosis with clinical outcome in 2009 node-positive BC samples from the BIG 02-98 adjuvant phase III trial comparing anthracycline-only CT (doxorubicin followed by cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil [CMF] or doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide followed by CMF) versus CT combining doxorubicin and docetaxel (doxorubicin plus docetaxel followed by CMF or doxorubicin followed by docetaxel followed by CMF). Readings were independently performed by two pathologists. Disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and interaction with type of CT associations were studied. Median follow-up was 8 years. RESULTS: There was no significant prognostic association in the global nor estrogen receptor (ER) -positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) -negative population. However, each 10% increase in intratumoral and stromal lymphocytic infiltrations was associated with 17% and 15% reduced risk of relapse (adjusted P = .1 and P = .025), respectively, and 27% and 17% reduced risk of death in ER-negative/HER2-negative BC regardless of CT type (adjusted P = .035 and P = .023), respectively. In HER2-positive BC, there was a significant interaction between increasing stromal lymphocytic infiltration (10% increments) and benefit with anthracycline-only CT (DFS, interaction P = .042; OS, P = .018). CONCLUSION: In node-positive, ER-negative/HER2-negative BC, increasing lymphocytic infiltration was associated with excellent prognosis. Further validation of the clinical utility of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in this context is warranted. Our data also support the evaluation of immunotherapeutic approaches in selected BC subtypes.