Incidence of brain metastases after first line chemotherapy in breast cancer patients treated with or without trastuzumab

Abstract

10582 Background: Brain metastases during trastuzumab therapy have been frequently observed. Only a few studies have compared the risk of brain metastases in patients (pts) treated with or without trastuzumab. Methods: In our hospital, between Jun 2000 and September 2005, we conducted a retrospective study in 72 metastatic breast cancer pts treated with first-line mono-chemotherapy (CT) with paclitaxel or docetaxel or vinorelbine ± Trastuzumab (T). Results: Thirty-five pts with HER2 pos disease were treated with T associated with 1st line CT, while 37 pts (16 with HER2 positive tumor, 21 HER2 negative) were not treated with T (NT). Ten HER2 pos NT pts subsequently received T. The median follow-up was 21 months (range1–129); the median age was 54 (range 32–82); the median treatment duration was 5 months (range 1–29). The incidence of recurrence (R), progressive disease in brain (BR), progression free survival (PFS) after first line CT, and overall survival (OS) were reported below: (see Table) Conclusions: This study showed that, after first line chemotherapy, the use of T did not affect the incidence of BR in HER2 pos metastatic breast cancer pts. On the other hand, Her-2 neg seems to predict ‘per se‘ a lower incidence of cerebral spread of disease. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.