KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to assess everolimus plus exemestane versus exemestane alone in patients with HR+/HER2- advanced BC post-AI progression.
- Researchers concluded that everolimus combined with AI is effective and well-tolerated in patients with HER2-, HR+ advanced BC.
Everolimus, in combination with exemestane, has demonstrated advantages over exemestane alone in patients with HR-positive (+) and HER2-negative (-) advanced breast cancer (BC) following AI therapy failure.
Gerasimos Ardavanis-Loukeris and the team aimed to assess the impact of everolimus plus exemestane on oral mucositis incidence and severity and evaluate its overall efficacy and toxicity profile.
They performed an inclusive analysis by retrospectively reviewing the medical records of metastatic BC patients who received treatment with everolimus. This approach aimed to generate real-life safety and efficacy data for everolimus in this patient population.
About 68% of the patients had received chemotherapy (for early or metastatic disease), with 26% having received chemotherapy specifically for metastatic disease. Among the 25 included patients, the most common adverse events were fatigue, neutropenia, epistaxis, stomatitis, and pneumonitis, with toxicity leading to treatment discontinuation in 3 patients (12%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7 months (95%CI=3.5-10.5).
With a median follow-up of 73.3 months, the median overall survival was not reached. Patients (25%) had received prior therapy with CDK4/6 inhibitors, with a significantly shorter median PFS observed in this subgroup (P=0.025). Additionally, there was a trend towards longer PFS in patients with grade 3 breast cancer (P=0.085) and patients receiving everolimus as first-line treatment (P=0.081). Notably, some long responses were observed, with 4 patients exhibiting PFS >5 years.
The study concluded that everolimus, in combination with AI, represents an effective treatment option for patients with HER2-negative, HR-positive advanced breast cancer, demonstrating a favorable toxicity profile in real-life settings.
No funding information was provided.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38537957/
Ardavanis-Loukeris G, Kokkali S, Perdikari K, et al. (2024). “A Real-world Study of Everolimus Plus Aromatase Inhibitor in Hormone Receptor-positive, HER2-negative Advanced Breast Cancer.” Anticancer Res. 2024 Apr;44(4):1559-1565. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.16953. PMID: 38537957.
