Evandro de Azambuja

Lapatinib with trastuzumab for HER2-positive early breast cancer (NeoALTTO): a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND The anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib have complementary mechanisms of action and synergistic antitumour activity in models of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. We argue that the two anti-HER2 agents given together would be better than single-agent therapy. METHODS In this parallel groups, randomised, open-label, phase 3 study undertaken between Jan 5, 2008, and May 27, 2010, women from 23 countries with HER2-positive primary breast cancer with tumours greater than 2 cm in diameter were randomly assigned to oral lapatinib (1500 mg), intravenous trastuzumab (loading dose 4 mg/kg [DOSAGE ERROR CORRECTED], subsequent doses 2 mg/kg), or lapatinib (1000 mg) plus trastuzumab. Treatment allocation was by stratified, permuted blocks randomisation, with four stratification factors. Anti-HER2 therapy alone was given for the first 6 weeks; weekly paclitaxel (80 mg/m(2)) was then added to the regimen for a further 12 weeks, before definitive surgery was undertaken. After surgery, patients received adjuvant chemotherapy followed by the same targeted therapy as in the neoadjuvant phase to 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was the rate of pathological complete response (pCR), analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00553358. FINDINGS 154 patients received lapatinib, 149 trastuzumab, and 152 the combination. pCR rate was significantly higher in the group given lapatinib and trastuzumab (78 of 152 patients [51·3%; 95% CI 43·1-59·5]) than in the group given trastuzumab alone (44 of 149 patients [29·5%; 22·4-37·5]; difference 21·1%, 9·1-34·2, p=0·0001). We recorded no significant difference in pCR between the lapatinib (38 of 154 patients [24·7%, 18·1-32·3]) and the trastuzumab (difference -4·8%, -17·6 to 8·2, p=0·34) groups. No major cardiac dysfunctions occurred. Frequency of grade 3 diarrhoea was higher with lapatinib (36 patients [23·4%]) and lapatinib plus trastuzumab (32 [21·1%]) than with trastuzumab (three [2·0%]). Similarly, grade 3 liver-enzyme alterations were more frequent with lapatinib (27 [17·5%]) and lapatinib plus trastuzumab (15 [9·9%]) than with trastuzumab (11 [7·4%]). INTERPRETATION Dual inhibition of HER2 might be a valid approach to treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer in the neoadjuvant setting. FUNDING GlaxoSmithKline.

Prognostic and Predictive Value of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in a Phase III Randomized Adjuvant Breast Cancer Trial in Node-Positive Breast Cancer Comparing the Addition of Docetaxel to Doxorubicin With Doxorubicin-Based Chemotherapy: BIG 02-98

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.

Treatment with trastuzumab for 1 year after adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer: a 4-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Treatment with adjuvant trastuzumab for 1 year improves disease-free survival and overall survival in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer. We aimed to assess disease-free survival and overall survival after a median follow-up of 4 years for patients enrolled on the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial. METHODS The HERA trial is an international, multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial comparing treatment with trastuzumab for 1 and 2 years with observation after standard neoadjuvant, adjuvant chemotherapy, or both in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival. After a positive first interim analysis at a median follow-up of 1 year for the comparison of treatment with trastuzumab for 1 year with observation, event-free patients in the observation group were allowed to cross over to receive trastuzumab. We report trial outcomes for the 1-year trastuzumab and observation groups at a median follow-up of 48·4 months (IQR 42·0-56·5) and assess the effect of the extensive crossover to trastuzumab. Our analysis was by intention-to-treat. The HERA trial is registered with the European Clinical Trials Database, number 2005-002385-11. FINDINGS The HERA trial population comprised 1698 patients randomly assigned to the observation group and 1703 to the 1-year trastuzumab group. Intention-to-treat analysis of disease-free survival showed a significant benefit in favour of patients in the 1-year trastuzumab group (4-year disease-free survival 78·6%) compared with the observation group (4-year disease-free survival 72·2%; hazard ratio [HR] 0·76; 95% CI 0·66-0·87; p<0·0001). Intention-to-treat analysis of overall survival showed no significant difference in the risk of death (4-year overall survival 89·3%vs 87·7%, respectively; HR 0·85; 95% CI 0·70-1·04; p=0·11). Overall, 885 patients (52%) of the 1698 patients in the observation group crossed over to receive trastuzumab, and began treatment at median 22·8 months (range 4·5-52·7) from randomisation. In a non-randomised comparison, patients in the selective-crossover cohort had fewer disease-free survival events than patients remaining in the observation group (adjusted HR 0·68; 95% CI 0·51-0·90; p=0·0077). Higher incidences of grade 3-4 and fatal adverse events were noted on 1-year trastuzumab than in the observation group. The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events, each in less than 1% of patients, were congestive cardiac failure, hypertension, arthralgia, back pain, central-line infection, hot flush, headache, and diarrhoea. INTERPRETATION Treatment with adjuvant trastuzumab for 1 year after chemotherapy is associated with significant clinical benefit at 4-year median follow-up. The substantial selective crossover of patients in the observation group to trastuzumab was associated with improved outcomes for this cohort. FUNDING F Hoffmann-La Roche, Michelangelo Foundation.

2 years versus 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer (HERA): an open-label, randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Trastuzumab has established efficacy against breast cancer with overexpression or amplification of the HER2 oncogene. The standard of care is 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab, but the optimum duration of treatment is unknown. We compared 2 years of treatment with trastuzumab with 1 year of treatment, and updated the comparison of 1 year of trastuzumab versus observation at a median follow-up of 8 years, for patients enrolled in the HERceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial. METHODS The HERA trial is an international, multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial comparing treatment with trastuzumab for 1 and 2 years with observation after standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, or both in 5102 patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival. The comparison of 2 years versus 1 year of trastuzumab treatment involved a landmark analysis of 3105 patients who were disease-free 12 months after randomisation to one of the trastuzumab groups, and was planned after observing at least 725 disease-free survival events. The updated intention-to-treat comparison of 1 year trastuzumab treatment versus observation alone in 3399 patients at a median follow-up of 8 years (range 0-10) is also reported. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00045032. FINDINGS We recorded 367 events of disease-free survival in 1552 patients in the 1 year group and 367 events in 1553 patients in the 2 year group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·85-1·14, p=0·86). Grade 3-4 adverse events and decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction during treatment were reported more frequently in the 2 year treatment group than in the 1 year group (342 [20·4%] vs 275 [16·3%] grade 3-4 adverse events, and 120 [7·2%] vs 69 [4·1%] decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction, respectively). HRs for a comparison of 1 year of trastuzumab treatment versus observation were 0·76 (95% CI 0·67-0·86, p<0·0001) for disease-free survival and 0·76 (0·65-0·88, p=0·0005) for overall survival, despite crossover of 884 (52%) patients from the observation group to trastuzumab therapy. INTERPRETATION 2 years of adjuvant trastuzumab is not more effective than is 1 year of treatment for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. 1 year of treatment provides a significant disease-free and overall survival benefit compared with observation and remains the standard of care. FUNDING F Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche).

Cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapies: a position statement from the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology

The reductions in mortality and morbidity being achieved among cancer patients with current therapies represent a major achievement. However, given their mechanisms of action, many anti‐cancer agents may have significant potential for cardiovascular side effects, including the induction of heart failure. The magnitude of this problem remains unclear and is not readily apparent from current clinical trials of emerging targeted agents, which generally under‐represent older patients and those with significant co‐morbidities. The risk of adverse events may also increase when novel agents, which frequently modulate survival pathways, are used in combination with each other or with other conventional cytotoxic chemotherapeutics. The extent to which survival and growth pathways in the tumour cell (which we seek to inhibit) coincide with those in cardiovascular cells (which we seek to preserve) is an open question but one that will become ever more important with the development of new cancer therapies that target intracellular signalling pathways. It remains unclear whether potential cardiovascular problems can be predicted from analyses of such basic signalling mechanisms and what pre‐clinical evaluation should be undertaken. The screening of patients, optimization of therapeutic schemes, monitoring of cardiovascular function during treatment, and the management of cardiovascular side effects are likely to become increasingly important in cancer patients. This paper summarizes the deliberations of a cross‐disciplinary workshop organized by the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology (held in Brussels in May 2009), which brought together clinicians working in cardiology and oncology and those involved in basic, translational, and pharmaceutical science.

Dissecting the Heterogeneity of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15% to 20% of breast cancers. It is a heterogeneous disease, not only on the molecular level, but also on the pathologic and clinical levels. TNBC is associated with a significantly higher probability of relapse and poorer overall survival in the first few years after diagnosis when compared with other breast cancer subtypes. This is observed despite its usual high sensitivity to chemotherapy. In the advanced setting, responses observed with chemotherapy lack durability. Early-stage clinical studies suggested impressive potential when a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor is given for the treatment of advanced TNBC with BRCA gene dysfunction. The molecular complexity of TNBC has led to proposed subclassifications, which will be of great value for the development of targeted therapies. In this review, we discuss the biology of TNBC at the pathologic and the molecular levels. We also elaborate on the role of systemic therapies and the results of the first phase III clinical trial evaluating the addition of iniparib, a novel investigational anticancer agent that does not possess characteristics typical of the PARP inhibitor class, in combination with chemotherapy in advanced TNBC.

Review: Side Effects of Approved Molecular Targeted Therapies in Solid Cancers

Major advances have been achieved in the field of biologically based therapies for cancer in the last few years, and some of the recently approved molecular-targeted therapies are now being used in daily clinical practice. These molecular targets are also expressed in normal cells, which explains the different grades of toxicity, resulting from the disruption of normal cellular function. In general, targeted molecular therapies have good toxicity profiles, but some patients are exquisitely sensitive to these drugs and can develop particular and severe toxicities. In this article, we review the toxicity and safety of various small molecules and monoclonal antibodies used in solid tumors, with discussion of the pathophysiology, correlation with response, and strategies for prevention and management.

Longer-Term Assessment of Trastuzumab-Related Cardiac Adverse Events in the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) Trial

PURPOSE We investigated the incidence of cardiac adverse events in patients with early breast cancer in the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial who were treated with 1 year of trastuzumab after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS The HERA trial is a three-group, randomized trial that compared 1 year or 2 years of trastuzumab with observation in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) -positive early breast cancer. Eligible patients had normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; >or= 55%) after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy. Cardiac function was monitored throughout the trial. This analysis considers patients randomly assigned to 1 year of trastuzumab treatment or observation. RESULTS There were 1,698 patients randomly assigned to observation and 1,703 randomly assigned to 1 year of trastuzumab treatment; 94.1% of patients had been treated with anthracyclines. The incidence of discontinuation of trastuzumab because of cardiac disorders was low (5.1%). At a median follow-up of 3.6 years, the incidence of cardiac end points remained low, though it was higher in the trastuzumab group than in the observation group (severe CHF, 0.8% v 0.0%; confirmed significant LVEF decreases, 3.6% v 0.6%) In the trastuzumab group, 59 of 73 patients with a cardiac end point reached acute recovery; of these 59 patients, 52 were considered by the cardiac advisory board (CAB) to have a favorable outcome from the cardiac end point. CONCLUSION The incidence of cardiac end points remains low even after longer-term follow-up. The cumulative incidence of any type of cardiac end point increases during the scheduled treatment period of 1 year, but it remains relatively constant thereafter.

Lapatinib with trastuzumab for HER2-positive early breast cancer (NeoALTTO): survival outcomes of a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial and their association with pathological complete response

BACKGROUND Findings from the randomised phase 3 NeoALTTO trial in women with HER2-positive early breast cancer showed that the combination of lapatinib and trastuzumab significantly improved rates of pathological complete response compared with either drug alone. Here, we report data for the prespecified secondary endpoints of event-free and overall survival, and assess the association between these outcomes and pathological complete response. METHODS We enrolled women with HER2-positive early breast cancer and randomly assigned them to receive oral lapatinib (1500 mg), intravenous trastuzumab (4 mg/kg loading dose followed by 2 mg/kg), or lapatinib (1000 mg) plus trastuzumab (same dose as for single agent) in combination for 6 weeks, followed by an additional 12 weeks of the assigned anti-HER2 therapy in combination with weekly paclitaxel (80 mg/m(2)). Definitive surgery was done 4 weeks after the last dose of paclitaxel. After surgery, women received three cycles of FEC (fluorouracil 500 mg/m(2) plus epirubicin 100 mg/m(2) plus cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m(2)) given intravenously every 3 weeks, followed by 34 weeks of the same assigned neoadjuvant anti-HER2 therapy. The primary endpoint was pathological complete response. Secondary endpoints included event-free and overall survival (intention-to-treat analysis), and the association between pathological complete response and event-free or overall survival (analysed by landmark analysis at 30 weeks after randomisation). Follow-up is ongoing, and the trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00553358. FINDINGS 455 patients were enrolled: 154 (34%) were assigned to the lapatinib group, 149 (33%) to the trastuzumab group, and 152 (33%) to the lapatinib plus trastuzumab group. At an event follow-up of 3·77 years (IQR 3·50-4·22), 3-year event-free survival was 78% (95% CI 70-84) in the lapatinib group, 76% (68-82) in the trastuzumab group, and 84% (77-89) in the combination group. Event-free survival did not differ between the lapatinib and trastuzumab groups (HR 1·06, 95% CI 0·66-1·69, p=0·81), nor between the combination and trastuzumab groups (0·78, 0·47-1·28, p=0·33). Median survival follow-up was 3·84 years (IQR 3·60-4·24), and 3-year overall survival was 93% (95% CI 87-96) for lapatinib, 90% (84-94) for trastuzumab, and 95% (90-98) for combination therapy. Overall survival did not significantly differ between the lapatinib and trastuzumab groups (HR 0·86, 95% CI 0·45-1·63, p=0·65), nor between the combination and trastuzumab groups (0·62, 0·30-1·25, p=0·19). Landmark analyses showed that 3-year event-free survival was significantly improved for women who achieved pathological complete response compared with those who did not (HR 0·38, 95% CI 0·22-0·63, p=0·0003), as was 3-year overall survival (0·35, 0·15-0·70, p=0·005). Adverse events occurred in 149 (99%) patients receiving lapatinib, 142 (96%) patients receiving trastuzumab, and 147 (99%) patients receiving combination therapy. The most common adverse events were diarrhoea, rash or erythema, hepatic adverse events, and neutropenia (not related to FEC administration), and were consistent with known safety profiles of lapatinib and trastuzumab. Three primary and eight secondary cardiac events occurred, with no significant difference in incidence between treatment groups for primary or any cardiac events. INTERPRETATION Although event-free survival or overall survival did not differ between treatment groups, findings from our study confirm that patients who achieve pathological complete response after neoadjuvant anti-HER2 therapy have longer event-free and overall survival than do patients without pathological complete response. FUNDING GlaxoSmithKline.

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Associations With Pathological Complete Response and Event-Free Survival in HER2-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treated With Lapatinib and Trastuzumab A Secondary Analysis of the NeoALTTO Trial

IMPORTANCE The presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is associated with improved outcomes in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer treated with adjuvant trastuzumab and chemotherapy. The prognostic associations in the neoadjuvant setting of other anti-HER2 agents and combinations are unknown. OBJECTIVE To determine associations between presence of TILs, pathological complete response (pCR), and event-free survival (EFS) end points in patients with early breast cancer treated with trastuzumab, lapatinib, or the combination. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The NeoALTTO trial (Neoadjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization) randomly assigned 455 women with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer between January 5, 2008, and May 27, 2010, to 1 of 3 neoadjuvant treatment arms: trastuzumab, lapatinib, or the combination for 6 weeks followed by the addition of weekly paclitaxel for 12 weeks, followed by 3 cycles of fluorouracil, epirubicin, and cyclophosphamide after surgery. The primary end point used in this study was pCR in the breast and lymph nodes, with a secondary end point of EFS. We evaluated levels of percentage of TILs using hematoxylin-eosin-stained core biopsy sections taken at diagnosis (prior to treatment) in a prospectively defined retrospective analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Levels of TILs were examined for their associations with efficacy end points adjusted for prognostic clinicopathological factors including PIK3CA genotype. RESULTS Of the 455 patients, 387 (85.1%) tumor samples were used for the present analysis. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) level of TILs was 12.5% (5.0%-30.0%), with levels lower in hormone receptor-positive (10.0% [5.0%-22.5%]) vs hormone receptor-negative (12.5% [3.0%-35.0%]) samples (P = .02). For the pCR end point, levels of TILs greater than 5% were associated with higher pCR rates independent of treatment group (adjusted odds ratio, 2.60 [95% CI, 1.26-5.39]; P = .01). With a median (IQR) follow-up time of 3.77 (3.50-4.22) years, every 1% increase in TILs was associated with a 3% decrease in the rate of an event (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.97 [95% CI, 0.95-0.99]; P = .002) across all treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The presence of TILs at diagnosis is an independent, positive, prognostic marker in HER2-positive early breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant anti-HER2 agents and chemotherapy for both pCR and EFS end points. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00553358.