Adding Palbociclib to Standard Care Improved PFS in Triple-Positive Breast Cancer

Findings from the phase III PATINA trial, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, showed that adding the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (Ibrance) to current standard-of-care therapy following induction chemotherapy significantly extended progression-free survival (PFS) by nearly 15 months in patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Gaia Griguolo, MD, of the University of Padova in Italy, discusses the clinical implications of this potentially practice-changing trial.

Following is a transcript of her remarks:

My main highlight from the meeting this year are the results from the PATINA trial assessing the addition of CDK4/6 inhibitors, or palbociclib, to maintenance treatment with endocrine treatment in triple-positive breast cancer patients, so patients who have both hormone receptor-positive and HER2-positive breast cancer, which we usually now, after a first course of chemotherapy and dual blockade and HER2 blockade with pertuzumab [Perjeta]/trastuzumab [Herceptin], usually treat with the maintenance treatment with pertuzumab/trastuzumab and endocrine treatment.

And, in fact, this study showed that the additional palbociclib to this kind of treatment was able to significantly prolong PFS from the start of the maintenance treatment with a benefit in terms of PFS of almost 15 months for patients treated with palbociclib.

This study actually builds up on a number of evidence that have shown that the addition of a targeted treatment, specifically CDK4/6 inhibitors, might be beneficial even in the context of HER2-positive, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, but this is the first phase of three trials, which will probably impact our clinical practice. So I think this is a practice-changing trial.

I also want to add that this might in fact connect with the team of my poster, as one of our observations was that in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer brain metastasis, the presence of PIK3CA mutations were in fact linked with worse prognosis. And there are trials ongoing assessing the potential addition of PIK3CA inhibitors to anti-HER2 treatment for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. So there are a series of trials ongoing, which are testing this kind of strategy. And the PATINA trial has been the first trial to read out positive.