Clinical outcome of patients experiencing central nervous system progression on first-line pertuzumab and trastuzumab for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in a real-life cohort.

Abstract

2527 Background: Isolated central nervous system (CNS) progression on first-line systemic therapy with Trastuzumab (T) and Pertuzumab (P) for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a therapeutic challenge. Our aim was to describe the clinical outcome and current treatment strategies for such patients in a large retrospective cohort. Methods: Patients (pts) were selected among all MBC pts included in the French Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME) database involving 18 specialized cancer centers (NCT03275311). CNS progression-free survival (CNS-PFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from diagnostic of brain metastases (BM) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Between January 2008 and December 2016, 995 pts were treated with first-line T and P for their HER2-positive MBC. They were 55 years old in median, with tumors expressing hormone-receptors in 62%. A total of 132 pts (13%) experienced isolated CNS progression on T and P, with a median time from metastatic diagnosis to CNS progression of 12 months. It was the first CNS progression for 108 pts (82%) while 24 (18%) already had BM at time of metastatic relapse. After CNS progression, T and P were continued for 58% of pts (n = 73). The remaining 47 pts were switched to another HER2-directed therapy (T-DM1 for 57%, T alone or combined with chemotherapy for 36% and lapatinib for 21%). Among those 132 pts, 37% received whole-brain radiotherapy, 18% stereotactic radiation therapy, and 11% surgery. Systemic treatment was combined with CNS-directed therapy for 50% of pts. Median follow-up is 21 months (95%CI: 14.9-25.5) from the diagnosis of CNS metastases. Median OS (mOS) of the 132 pts is 35 months (95%CI: 29.2-53,6), and median PFS 7 months (95%CI: 6.3- 9.2). A total of 77 pts (58.3%) experienced a new CNS progression with a median CNS-PFS of 9 months (95%CI: 7.6-12,0). Patient who stayed on T and P had a significantly better OS in comparison to pts who were switched to another systemic HER2-directed therapy (mOS not evaluable vs23 months), whereas PFS and CNS-PFS were similar between groups. Conclusions: In this real life setting, isolated CNS progression occurred among 13% of pts with HER2+ MBC on first-line treatment with T and P, after a median time of 12 months. Following current ASCO recommendations, continuation of T and P after CNS-directed therapy, seemed to be adequate. Nevertheless, time to subsequent progression is short and better therapeutic options are needed.