SABCS 2020: Patient-Reported Outcomes With Atezolizumab Plus Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Posted: Thursday, December 17, 2020
For patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, there appeared to be no differences reported in terms of ability to perform daily tasks between those treated with checkpoint inhibitors combined with standard chemotherapy and those given chemotherapy alone. Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Boston, and colleagues used data from the phase III IMpassion031 trial, which analyzed the safety and efficacy of atezolizumab plus standard chemotherapy, to focus on this quality-of-life analysis. These patient-reported outcomes were presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract GS3-02).
“Treatment for early-stage breast cancer aims to be curative,” said Dr. Mittendorf in a press release. “In such cases, we want to be sure that improvements in outcomes are balanced against [the] effects on patients’ quality of life. Our findings suggest that the combination of checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy meets that test.”
This was the first study to utilize direct feedback to determine the impact of this regimen on the day-to-day activities of patients with early-stage breast cancer. A total of 333 patients with previously untreated triple-negative breast cancer were enrolled. Prior to breast cancer surgery, participants received either atezolizumab plus nab-paclitaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide or a placebo plus the same agents, at random.
In the months following treatment, trial participants were tasked with rating their ability to perform daily activities, including preparing meals throughout the day and going to work. Patients reported increased difficulty in these areas, but the personal feedback from both cohorts was similar. Treatment side effects such as fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea were almost equally reported in both the atezolizumab and placebo groups. Although patients struggled initially in performing some daily tasks, the side effects dwindled over time. Participants from both groups overcame these ailments similarly.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of study authors, visit sabcs.org
