Adding ErbB Inhibitor to Standard Chemotherapy for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Posted: Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Neoadjuvant treatment of early HER2-positive breast cancer using the oral pan-ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor pyrotinib plus trastuzumab-based standard chemotherapy may prove to be effective, according to a multicenter phase II study conducted in China. Pyrotinib targets HER1, HER2, and HER4. These results were presented during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020 by Liu et al, of Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China (Abstract 224P) and published in the Annals of Oncology.
This trial enrolled patients between the ages of 18 and 70 who had invasive HER2-positive breast cancer. Patients with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer were not included. Patients were treated with 320 mg of oral pyrotinib once a day for 21 days plus standard chemotherapy. The standard chemotherapy consisted of six 21-day cycles of docetaxel (75 mg/m2), carboplatin (6 mg/mL/min), and trastuzumab (8 mg/kg loading dose, 6 mg/kg maintenance dose).
Researchers reported the results of the first 31 patients at this ESMO Congress. There were 16 patients (51.6%) who achieved pathologic complete response, reaching the threshold for study design. The study authors reported that the study is ongoing.
Adverse events seen thus far included grade 3 or 4 diarrhea (58.1%), anemia (45.2%), and vomiting (16.1%). Of note, no treatment related deaths have been recorded.
Disclosure: The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
