AACR COVID-19: Adjustments in Use of CDK4/6 Inhibitors for Metastatic Breast Cancer
Posted: Friday, July 31, 2020
For patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, withdrawal or dose reduction of CDK4/6 inhibitors may reduce the incidence of COVID-19, according to a presentation during the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Meeting on COVID-19 and Cancer (Abstract PO-020). However, additional data collection is necessary to define protocols that “will provide us with strong evidence to make decisions in case of new outbreaks,” reported Eva M. Ciruelos, MD, PhD, of the University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Spain, and colleagues.
A total of 78 patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer were enrolled in the study. All patients were receiving CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy with palbociclib (n = 44), ribociclib (n = 21), and abemaciclib (n = 13) in conjunction with hormonal therapies. For all patients, treatment regimens were withdrawn or doses adjusted to determine the impact on risk of developing COVID-19 infection.
The investigators found an average incidence of COVID-19 of 7.7% in both exposed (12.8%) and nonexposed (2.7%) patients. There was also a 5.8 odds ratio for exposed patients. In addition, there was a higher incidence of COVID-19 risk in patients who had diabetes mellitus but a lower incidence in patients older than 65 and in those with disease in bone alone.
Furthermore, for patients who were administered ribociclib, abemaciclib, and palbociclib, the incidences of COVID-19 were 14.29%, 7.69%, and 4.55%, respectively. Moreover, patients who experienced CDK4/6 inhibitor withdrawal or dose reduction did not seem to demonstrate a risk of disease progression.
Disclosure: No information regarding conflicts of interest was provided.
