Observational study on adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2-positive early breast cancer patients. (May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mustacchi, G; Puglisi, F; Molino, AM; Crivellari, D; Ghiotto, C; Ferro, A; Brunello, A; Saracchini, S; Turazza, M; Cretella, E; Iop, A; Malagoli, M; Stefani, M
• Is Part Of: Future oncology. Volume 11:Number 10(2015)
• Page Start: 1493
• Page End: 1500
• Publication Date: 2015-05
• Subjects: adjuvant trastuzumab -- discontinuation rate -- HER2-positive early breast cancer -- luminal B-HER2-positive -- real-life study -- relapse rate; Oncology -- Periodicals; 616.99405
• DOI: 10.2217/fon.15.34
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1479-6694

Abstract

ABSTRACT : Aim: This observational study investigates the use of adjuvant trastuzumab (AT) in HER2-positive breast cancer patients in a real-life setting, focusing on relapse and discontinuation rates.Patients & methods: Data on a group of HER2-positive patients collected from 13 oncology centers of northeast Italy were analyzed.Results: In total, 1245 patients were analyzed. 13.1% of patients were excluded from AT because of comorbidities, age, tumor stage, refusal or other reasons; 8.2% of patients who received AT interrupted the therapy, mainly for toxicity. Overall the relapse rate was 10.9% in the AT-treated population versus 22.6% in nontreated patients (follow-up: 37.4 and 62.1 months, respectively). Disease-free survival (DFS) was lower in AT-relapsed patients than in not-relapsed. Statistical analysis showed a correlation between DFS and estrogen receptor status in AT-treated patients.Conclusion: Relapse rates are lower in clinical setting compared to clinical trials. Overall, AT is effective in HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer patients.