Interim safety analysis of the randomized phase III PELICAN trial evaluating pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) versus capecitabine as first-line therapy for metastatic breast cancer

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1118 Background: Treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) focuses on relieving symptoms and extending life. Single-agent therapy is preferred in the first-line setting to reduce the risk of toxicity and maintain quality of life. The PELICAN trial was designed to evaluate efficacy and safety of first-line PLD vs capecitabine at standard approved dosages. Methods: PELICAN is an open-label, multinational, randomized, multicenter trial. MBC Patients (pts) were randomized to receive PLD (50 mg/m2 every 28 days) or capecitabine (1250 mg/m2 BID x 14 days every 21 days) until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was to compare time to disease progression between treatment arms. Toxicity was evaluated continuously. Results: The study is still ongoing, but no longer recruiting. So far, 210 pts (PLD, 105; capecitabine, 105) were evaluated for safety, of whom 131 pts have already completed their treatment (83 for disease progression, 19 for toxicity, 5 died, 24 for other reasons). 90% of pts had ECOG performance status 1 or 2, and 79% were postmenopausal. Mean age was 61.5 years, and 34% received prior adjuvant anthracycline. Pts received a median of 4 cycles of PLD and a median of 5 cycles of capecitabine. Over 90% of pts in both groups experienced at least one adverse event (AE). Grade 3/4 AEs were reported in 99 patients (PLD, 44; capecitabine, 55). Hand foot syndrome (HFS) was the most common AE (grade 3: PLD 35%; capecitabine 19%), followed by diarrhea (grade 3/4: PLD, 0; capecitabine, 13%) and thromboembolic events (PLD, 0%; capecitabine, 9%). Other grade 3/4 AEs affected 1 week in 16%. Conclusions: Overall, first-line monotherapy with PLD or capecitabine at approved doses was maintainable for a median of about 4 months with manageable AEs. Interim safety results of the PELICAN trial show no unanticipated toxicity. Efficacy results will be available once all patients have completed their therapy. [Table: see text]