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The antibody–drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine is indicated for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane. Approval of this drug was based on progression-free survival and interim overall survival data from the phase 3 EMILIA study. In this report, we present a descriptive analysis of the final overall survival data from that trial. EMILIA was a randomised, international, open-label, phase 3 study of men and women aged 18 years or older with HER2-positive unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane. Enrolled patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a hierarchical, dynamic randomisation scheme and an interactive voice response system to trastuzumab emtansine (3·6 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks) or control (capecitabine 1000 mg/m2 self-administered orally twice daily on days 1–14 on each 21-day cycle, plus lapatinib 1250 mg orally once daily on days 1–21). Randomisation was stratified by world region (USA vs western Europe vs or other), number of previous chemotherapy regimens for unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic disease (0 or 1 vs >1), and disease involvement (visceral vs non-visceral). The coprimary efficacy endpoints were progression-free survival (per independent review committee assessment) and overall survival. Efficacy was analysed in the intention-to-treat population; safety was analysed in all patients who received at least one dose of study treatment, with patients analysed according to the treatment actually received. On May 30, 2012, the study protocol was amended to allow crossover from control to trastuzumab emtansine after the second interim overall survival analysis crossed the prespecified overall survival efficacy boundary. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00829166. Between Feb 23, 2009, and Oct 13, 2011, 991 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to either trastuzumab emtansine (n=495) or capecitabine and lapatinib (control; n=496). In this final descriptive analysis, median overall survival was longer with trastuzumab emtansine than with control (29·9 months [95% CI 26·3–34·1] vs 25·9 months [95% CI 22·7–28·3]; hazard ratio 0·75 [95% CI 0·64–0·88]). 136 (27%) of 496 patients crossed over from control to trastuzumab emtansine after the second interim overall survival analysis (median follow-up duration 24·1 months [IQR 19·5–26·1]). Of those patients originally randomly assigned to trastuzumab emtansine, 254 (51%) of 495 received capecitabine and 241 [49%] of 495 received lapatinib (separately or in combination) after study drug discontinuation. In the safety population (488 patients treated with capecitabine plus lapatinib, 490 patients treated with trastuzumab emtansine), fewer grade 3 or worse adverse events occurred with trastuzumab emtansine (233 [48%] of 490) than with capecitabine plus lapatinib control treatment (291 [60%] of 488). In the control group, the most frequently reported grade 3 or worse adverse events were diarrhoea (103 [21%] of 488 patients) followed by palmar–plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome (87 [18%]), and vomiting (24 [5%]). The safety profile of trastuzumab emtansine was similar to that reported previously; the most frequently reported grade 3 or worse adverse events in the trastuzumab emtansine group were thrombocytopenia (70 [14%] of 490), increased aspartate aminotransferase levels (22 [5%]), and anaemia (19 [4%]). Nine patients died from adverse events; five of these deaths were judged to be related to treatment (two in the control group [coronary artery disease and multiorgan failure] and three in the trastuzumab emtansine group [metabolic encephalopathy, neutropenic sepsis, and acute myeloid leukaemia]). This descriptive analysis of final overall survival in the EMILIA trial shows that trastuzumab emtansine improved overall survival in patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer even in the presence of crossover treatment. The safety profile was similar to that reported in previous analyses, reaffirming trastuzumab emtansine as an efficacious and tolerable treatment in this patient population. F Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech.

In the randomised, parallel assignment, open-label, phase 3 TH3RESA study, progression-free survival was significantly longer with trastuzumab emtansine versus treatment of physician's choice in previously treated patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer. We report results from the final overall survival analysis of the TH3RESA trial. Eligible patients for the TH3RESA trial were men and women (aged ≥18 years) with centrally confirmed HER2-positive advanced breast cancer previously treated with both trastuzumab and lapatinib (advanced setting) and a taxane (any setting) and with progression on two or more HER2-directed regimens in the advanced setting. Patients had to have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2, left ventricular ejection fraction of at least 50%, and adequate organ function. Patients were randomly assigned (2:1) by an interactive voice and web response system with permuted block randomisation in blocks of six to receive trastuzumab emtansine (3·6 mg/kg intravenously every 21 days) or treatment of physician's choice administered per local practice. Randomisation was stratified by world region, number of previous regimens for advanced breast cancer, and presence of visceral disease. On Sept 12, 2012, the study protocol was amended to allow patients with disease progression to crossover from treatment of physician's choice to trastuzumab emtansine. The coprimary endpoints for TH3RESA were investigator-assessed progression-free survival and overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. We report results from a preplanned second interim analysis of overall survival, which was planned for when approximately 67% (n=330) of 492 expected deaths had occurred. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01419197. Between Sept 14, 2011, and Nov 19, 2012, 602 patients were enrolled from 146 centres in 22 countries and randomly assigned to trastuzumab emtansine (n=404) or treatment of physician's choice (n=198). At data cutoff (Feb 13, 2015), 93 (47%) of 198 patients in the physician's choice group had crossed over to trastuzumab emtansine. Overall survival was significantly longer with trastuzumab emtansine versus treatment of physician's choice (median 22·7 months [95% CI 19·4–27·5] vs 15·8 months [13·5–18·7]; hazard ratio 0·68 [95% CI 0·54–0·85]; p=0·0007). As the stopping boundary for overall survival was crossed, this overall survival analysis serves as the final and confirmatory analysis of overall survival and the study was terminated according to the protocol. The incidence of grade 3 or worse adverse events was 161 (40%) of 403 patients in the trastuzumab emtansine group and 87 (47%) of 184 patients in the treatment of physician's choice group. Of the most common grade 3 or worse adverse events (affecting ≥2% of patients in either group), those with a 3% or greater difference in incidence between groups that were more frequent with treatment of physician's choice than with trastuzumab emtansine were diarrhoea (three [1%] of 403 patients in the trastuzumab emtansine group vs eight [4%] of 184 patients in the treatment of physician's choice group), neutropenia (ten [3%] vs 29 [16%]), and febrile neutropenia (one [<1%] vs seven [4%]); whereas those that were more frequent with trastuzumab emtansine were thrombocytopenia (24 [6%] of 403 patients vs five [3%] of 184 patients) and haemorrhage of any type (17 [4%] of 403 vs one [<1%] of 184). Serious adverse events were reported in 102 (25%) of 403 patients in the trastuzumab emtansine group and 41 (22%) of 184 in the physician's choice group. Deaths from adverse events were reported in three patients (2%) in the physician's choice group (of which one was judged to be treatment related) and nine (2%) in the trastuzumab emtansine group (of which three were judged to be treatment related). In patients who had progressed on two or more HER2-directed regimens, trastuzumab emtansine treatment resulted in a significant improvement in overall survival versus treatment of physician's choice. These data further solidify the role of trastuzumab emtansine in the management of patients with previously treated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, and validate HER2 as a therapeutic target even after multiple lines of previous therapy. F Hoffman-La Roche/Genentech.

Trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS-8201a) is a novel HER2-targeted antibody–drug conjugate with a humanised anti-HER2 antibody, cleavable peptide-based linker, and potent topoisomerase I inhibitor payload. A phase 1, non-randomised, open-label, multiple-dose study was done to assess the safety, tolerability, and activity of trastuzumab deruxtecan in HER2-expressing, advanced solid tumours. The dose escalation (part 1) has previously been reported and the recommended doses for expansion of 5·4 mg/kg or 6·4 mg/kg were established. In this Article, we report the safety and preliminary activity results from this phase 1 trial in all patients with HER2-positive advanced-stage breast cancer with previous trastuzumab emtansine treatment who received trastuzumab deruxtecan at the recommended doses for expansion. We did an open-label, dose-escalation and dose-expansion phase 1 trial at eight hospitals and clinics in the USA and six in Japan. Eligible patients were at least 18 years old in the USA and at least 20 years of age in Japan and had advanced solid tumours (regardless of HER2 expression in dose escalation or HER2 expression or mutation in dose expansion). The recommended doses for expansion of 5·4 mg/kg or 6·4 mg/kg trastuzumab deruxtecan were administered intravenously to patients once every 3 weeks until withdrawal of consent, unacceptable toxicity, or progressive disease. In this Article, all patients with HER2-positive advanced-stage breast cancer with previous trastuzumab emtansine treatment who received trastuzumab deruxtecan at the recommended doses for expansion were analysed together. The primary endpoints of the study were safety and preliminary activity (proportion of patients who achieved an objective response as assessed by the investigators). The activity evaluable set included all patients who received at least one dose of trastuzumab deruxtecan at the recommended doses for expansion, and for whom both baseline and post-treatment activity data were available. The safety analysis set included all patients who received at least one dose of trastuzumab deruxtecan at the recommended doses for expansion. Enrolment for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer has been completed. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02564900, and ClinicalTrials.jp, number JapicCTI-152978. Between Aug 28, 2015, and Aug 10, 2018, 115 of 118 patients with HER2-positive breast cancer were treated with at least one dose of trastuzumab deruxtecan at the recommended doses for expansion. All patients had at least one treatment-emergent adverse event. Frequent grade 3 or worse treatment-emergent adverse events included anaemia (19 [17%] of 115) and decreased neutrophil (16 [14%]), white blood cell (ten [9%]), and platelet (nine [8%]) counts. At least one serious treatment-emergent adverse event occurred for 22 (19%) patients. Investigators reported 20 cases of interstitial lung disease, pneumonitis, or organising pneumonia, including one grade 3 event and two treatment-related deaths due to pneumonitis. One death unrelated to study treatment was due to progressive disease. 66 (59·5%; 95% CI 49·7–68·7) of 111 patients had a confirmed objective response. Trastuzumab deruxtecan had a manageable safety profile and showed preliminary activity in trastuzumab emtansine-pretreated patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. These results suggest that further development in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials for HER2-positive breast cancer is warranted. Daiichi Sankyo Co, Ltd.

Patients with progressive disease after two or more HER2-directed regimens for recurrent or metastatic breast cancer have few effective therapeutic options. We aimed to compare trastuzumab emtansine, an antibody–drug conjugate comprising the cytotoxic agent DM1 linked to trastuzumab, with treatment of physician's choice in this population of patients. This randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial took place in medical centres in 22 countries across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia-Pacific. Eligible patients (≥18 years, left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50%, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–2) with progressive HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who had received two or more HER2-directed regimens in the advanced setting, including trastuzumab and lapatinib, and previous taxane therapy in any setting, were randomly assigned (in a 2:1 ratio) to trastuzumab emtansine (3·6 mg/kg intravenously every 21 days) or physician's choice using a permuted block randomisation scheme by an interactive voice and web response system. Patients were stratified according to world region (USA vs western Europe vs other), number of previous regimens (excluding single-agent hormonal therapy) for the treatment of advanced disease (two to three vs more than three), and presence of visceral disease (any vs none). Coprimary endpoints were investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. We report the final PFS analysis and the first interim overall survival analysis. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01419197. From Sept 14, 2011, to Nov 19, 2012, 602 patients were randomly assigned (404 to trastuzumab emtansine and 198 to physician's choice). At data cutoff (Feb 11, 2013), 44 patients assigned to physician's choice had crossed over to trastuzumab emtansine. After a median follow-up of 7·2 months (IQR 5·0–10·1 months) in the trastuzumab emtansine group and 6·5 months (IQR 4·1–9·7) in the physician's choice group, 219 (54%) patients in the trastuzumab emtansine group and 129 (65%) of patients in the physician's choice group had PFS events. PFS was significantly improved with trastuzumab emtansine compared with physician's choice (median 6·2 months [95% CI 5·59–6·87] vs 3·3 months [2·89–4·14]; stratified hazard ratio [HR] 0·528 [0·422–0·661]; p<0·0001). Interim overall survival analysis showed a trend favouring trastuzumab emtansine (stratified HR 0·552 [95% CI 0·369–0·826]; p=0·0034), but the stopping boundary was not crossed. A lower incidence of grade 3 or worse adverse events was reported with trastuzumab emtansine than with physician's choice (130 events [32%] in 403 patients vs 80 events [43%] in 184 patients). Neutropenia (ten [2%] vs 29 [16%]), diarrhoea (three [<1%] vs eight [4%]), and febrile neutropenia (one [<1%] vs seven [4%]) were grade 3 or worse adverse events that were more common in the physician's choice group than in the trastuzumab emtansine group. Thrombocytopenia (19 [5%] vs three [2%]) was the grade 3 or worse adverse event that was more common in the trastuzumab emtansine group. 74 (18%) patients in the trastuzumab emtansine group and 38 (21%) in the physician's choice group reported a serious adverse event. Trastuzumab emtansine should be considered as a new standard for patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who have previously received trastuzumab and lapatinib. Genentech.

Background Treatment options for triple-negative breast cancer remain limited. Activation of the PI3K pathway via loss of PTEN and/or INPP4B is common. Buparlisib is an orally bioavailable, pan-class I PI3K inhibitor. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of buparlisib in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Methods This was a single-arm phase 2 study enrolling patients with triple-negative metastatic breast cancer. Patients were treated with buparlisib at a starting dose of 100 mg daily. The primary endpoint was clinical benefit, defined as confirmed complete response (CR), partial response (PR), or stable disease (SD) for ≥ 4 months, per RECIST 1.1. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity. A subset of patients underwent pre- and on-treatment tumor tissue biopsies for correlative studies. Results Fifty patients were enrolled. Median number of cycles was 2 (range 1–10). The clinical benefit rate was 12% (6 patients, all SD ≥ 4 months). Median PFS was 1.8 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6–2.3). Median OS was 11.2 months (95% CI 6.2–25). The most frequent adverse events were fatigue (58% all grades, 8% grade 3), nausea (34% all grades, none grade 3), hyperglycemia (34% all grades, 4% grade 3), and anorexia (30% all grades, 2% grade 3). Eighteen percent of patients experienced depression (12% grade 1, 6% grade 2) and anxiety (10% grade 1, 8% grade 2). Alterations in PIK3CA / AKT1 / PTEN were present in 6/27 patients with available targeted DNA sequencing (MSK-IMPACT), 3 of whom achieved SD as best overall response though none with clinical benefit ≥ 4 months. Of five patients with paired baseline and on-treatment biopsies, reverse phase protein arrays (RPPA) analysis demonstrated reduction of S6 phosphorylation in 2 of 3 patients who achieved SD, and in none of the patients with progressive disease. Conclusions Buparlisib was associated with prolonged SD in a very small subset of patients with triple-negative breast cancer; however, no confirmed objective responses were observed. Downmodulation of key nodes in the PI3K pathway was observed in patients who achieved SD. PI3K pathway inhibition alone may be insufficient as a therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer. Trial registration NCT01790932 . Registered on 13 February 2013; NCT01629615 . Registered on 27 June 2012.

Preoperative bevacizumab and chemotherapy may benefit a subset of breast cancer (BC) patients. To explore potential mechanisms of this benefit, we conducted a phase II study of neoadjuvant bevacizumab (single dose) followed by combined bevacizumab and adriamycin/cyclophosphamide/paclitaxel chemotherapy in HER2-negative BC. The regimen was well-tolerated and showed a higher rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) in triple-negative (TN)BC (11/21 patients or 52%, [95% confidence interval (CI): 30,74]) than in hormone receptor-positive (HR)BC [5/78 patients or 6% (95%CI: 2,14)]. Within the HRBCs, basal-like subtype was significantly associated with pCR (P= 0.007; Fisher exact test). We assessed interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and tissue biopsies before and after bevacizumab monotherapy and circulating plasma biomarkers at baseline and before and after combination therapy. Bevacizumab alone lowered IFP, but to a smaller extent than previously observed in other tumor types. Pathologic response to therapy correlated with sVEGFR1 postbevacizumab alone in TNBC (Spearman correlation 0.610,P= 0.0033) and pretreatment microvascular density (MVD) in all patients (Spearman correlation 0.465,P= 0.0005). Moreover, increased pericyte-covered MVD, a marker of extent of vascular normalization, after bevacizumab monotherapy was associated with improved pathologic response to treatment, especially in patients with a high pretreatment MVD. These data suggest that bevacizumab prunes vessels while normalizing those remaining, and thus is beneficial only when sufficient numbers of vessels are initially present. This study implicates pretreatment MVD as a potential predictive biomarker of response to bevacizumab in BC and suggests that new therapies are needed to normalize vessels without pruning.

HER2-targeting therapies have great efficacy in HER2-positive breast cancer, but resistance in part due to HER2 heterogeneity (HET) is a significant clinical challenge. We previously described that in a phase II neoadjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and pertuzumab (T-DM1+P) clinical trial in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, none of the patients with HER2-HET tumors had pathologic complete response (pCR). To investigate cellular and molecular differences among tumors according to HER2 heterogeneity and pCR, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and ERBB2 FISH of 285 pre/post-treatment tumors from 129 patients in this T-DM1+P neoadjuvant trial. A subset of cases was also subject to Nanostring spatial digital profiling. Pre-treatment tumors from patients with pCR had the highest level of ERBB2 mRNA and ERBB signaling. HET was associated with no pCR, basal-like features, low ERBB2 expression yet high ERBB signaling sustained by activation of downstream pathway components. Residual tumors showed decreased HER2 protein levels and ERBB2 copy number heterogeneity and increased PI3K pathway enrichment and luminal features. HET tumors showed minimal treatment-induced transcriptomic changes compared to non-HET tumors. Immune infiltration correlated with pCR and HER2-HET status. Resistance mechanisms in HET and non-HET tumors are distinct. HER2-targeting antibodies have limited efficacy in HET tumors. Our results support the stratification of patients based on HET status and the use of agents that target downstream components of the ERBB signaling pathway in patients with HET tumors. gov NCT02326974. This study was funded by Roche and the National Cancer Institute.

Background We aimed to examine the safety and efficacy of bevacizumab and carboplatin in patients with breast cancer brain metastases. Methods We enrolled patients with breast cancer and >  1 measurable new or progressive brain metastasis. Patients received bevacizumab 15 mg/kg intravenously (IV) on cycle 1 day 1 and carboplatin IV AUC = 5 on cycle 1 day 8. Patients with HER2-positive disease also received trastuzumab. In subsequent cycles, all drugs were administered on day 1 of each cycle. Contrast-enhanced brain MRI was performed at baseline, 24–96 h after the first bevacizumab dose (day + 1), and every 2 cycles. The primary endpoint was objective response rate in the central nervous system (CNS ORR) by composite criteria. Associations between germline VEGF single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs699947, rs2019063, rs1570360, rs833061) and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were explored, as were associations between early (day + 1) MRI changes and outcomes. Results Thirty-eight patients were enrolled (29 HER2-positive, 9 HER2-negative); all were evaluable for response. The CNS ORR was 63% (95% CI, 46–78). Median PFS was 5.62 months and median OS was 14.10 months. As compared with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) of 0, patients with ECOG PS 1–2 had significantly worse PFS and OS (all P  < 0.01). No significant associations between VEGF genotypes or early MRI changes and clinical outcomes were observed. Conclusions The combination of bevacizumab and carboplatin results in a high rate of durable objective response in patients with brain metastases from breast cancer. This regimen warrants further investigation. Trial registration NCT01004172 . Registered 28 October 2009.

In mouse models of patient-derived breast cancer brain metastases, combined inhibition of PI3K and mTOR resulted in regression, and therapeutic response was correlated with a reduction in 4EBP1 phosphorylation. Brain metastases represent the greatest clinical challenge in treating HER2-positive breast cancer. We report the development of orthotopic patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) of HER2-expressing breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM), and their use for the identification of targeted combination therapies. Combined inhibition of PI3K and mTOR resulted in durable tumor regressions in three of five PDXs, and therapeutic response was correlated with a reduction in the phosphorylation of 4EBP1, an mTORC1 effector. The two nonresponding PDXs showed hypermutated genomes with enrichment of mutations in DNA-repair genes, which suggests an association of genomic instability with therapeutic resistance. These findings suggest that a biomarker-driven clinical trial of PI3K inhibitor in combination with an mTOR inhibitor should be conducted for patients with HER2-positive BCBM.

Purpose Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody–drug conjugate comprising trastuzumab and DM1, a microtubule polymerization inhibitor, covalently bound via a stable thioether linker. To characterize the pharmacokinetics (PK) of T-DM1 in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer, data from four studies (TDM3569g, TDM4258g, TDM4374g, and TDM4688g) of single-agent T-DM1 administered at 3.6 mg/kg every 3 weeks (q3w) were assessed in aggregate. Methods Multiple analytes—T-DM1, total trastuzumab (TT), DM1, and key metabolites—were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays or liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. PK parameters of T-DM1, TT, and DM1 exposure were calculated using standard noncompartmental approaches and correlated to efficacy (objective response rate) and safety (platelet counts, hepatic transaminase concentrations). Immunogenicity was evaluated by measuring anti-therapeutic antibodies (ATA) to T-DM1 after repeated dosing using validated bridging antibody electrochemiluminescence or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results PK parameters for T-DM1, TT, and DM1 were consistent across studies at cycle 1 and steady state. T-DM1 PK was not affected by residual trastuzumab from prior therapy or circulating extracellular domain of HER2. No significant correlations were observed between T-DM1 exposure and efficacy, thrombocytopenia, or increased concentrations of transaminases. Across the studies, ATA formation was detected in 4.5% (13/286) of evaluable patients receiving T-DM1 q3w. Conclusions The PK profile of single-agent T-DM1 (3.6 mg/kg q3w) is predictable, well characterized, and unaffected by circulating levels of HER2 extracellular domain or residual trastuzumab. T-DM1 exposure does not correlate with clinical responses or key adverse events.