Phase 2 prospective open label study of neoadjuvant nab-paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab in patients with HER2-positive primary breast cancer

Mené sur 45 patientes atteintes d'un cancer primitif du sein HER2+ (durée médiane de suivi : 60 mois), cet essai de phase II évalue l'efficacité, du point de vue du taux de réponse pathologique complète, de la survie sans maladie invasive et de la survie globale à 5 ans, et la toxicité d'un traitement néoadjuvant combinant nab-paclitaxel, trastuzumab et pertuzumab

Cancer, sous presse, 2022, article en libre accès

Résumé en anglais

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of nab-paclitaxel, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab as neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 HER2+ breast cancer (HER2+ BC) to determine pathologic complete response (pCR), invasive disease-free survival (iDFS), and overall survival.

Methods: Forty-five patients with HER2+ BC Stages II–III were to be enrolled from 2013 to 2017. Patients were treated with weekly nab-paclitaxel (100 mg/m2 intravenously), weekly trastuzumab (4 mg/kg loading dose, then 2 mg/kg), and six cycles of pertuzumab (840 mg loading dose, then 420 mg intravenously day 1 every 21 days).

Results: Median follow-up was 60 months (95% CI, 32.3–55.6) and pCR was 29/45 (64%). The 5-year iDFS for patients who achieved pCR (N = 29) was 96.3% (95% CI, 76.5–99.5) and non-pCR patients (N = 16) was 74.3% (95% CI, 39.1–91.0). The 5-year overall survival (N = 45) was 94.1% (95% CI, 77.6–98.5). Based on hormonal status, the 5-year iDFS for HR+ pCR patients (N = 14) was 92.3% (95% CI, 56.6–98.9) and for HR− (N = 15) was 100% (p = .3).

Conclusions: This anthracycline/carboplatin-free regimen with nab-paclitaxel achieved a pCR rate of 64% in patients with HER2+ BC. The 5-year iDFS in patients with and without pCR was 96.3% and 74.3%, respectively. The pCR rate is comparable with docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab therapy in the NAT setting, but with fewer treatment-associated toxicities. This finding suggests the possibility of safe avoidance of anthracyclines and carboplatin as components of NAT in patients with HER2+ BC.