Maryann J. Kwa, MD, instructor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the results of the TAILORx trial in breast cancer.

Findings from the phase III TAILORx trial were presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. The study examined intermediate-risk patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, node-negative, early-stage breast cancer based on the 21-gene recurrence score. These were patients who had an Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test of 16 to 25. Half of patients were randomized to receive chemotherapy and endocrine therapy and half were randomized to receive endocrine therapy alone. The study found that there was no difference in disease-free survival between groups, said Kwa.

The noninferiority of endocrine therapy alone compared with endocrine therapy and chemotherapy (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.94-1.24; 

 = .26) met the trial’s primary endpoint.

However, Kwa notes that a subgroup analysis that looked at women who were 58 years of age or younger found a small benefit with chemotherapy and endocrine therapy.

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Dr. Kwa on the TAILORx Trial in Breast Cancer

Maryann J. Kwa, MD, instructor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the potential impact of biosimilars in oncology.

There is a lot of motivation in the field of oncology to decrease costs, says Kwa. Biosimilars can provide the medications that are easily accessible in the United States to other countries around the world that may not have access to the same standard of care. Biosimilars will soon become very important in reducing healthcare costs around the globe, explains Kwa.

Although filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), a biosimilar for the G-CSF analog filgrastim (Neupogen), is the only biosimilar commonly used in oncology practice, Kwa is hopeful that more biosimilars will be adopted in the United States.

MYL-1401O (Ogivri; trastuzumab-dkst) is currently the only trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar approved by the FDA. The biosimilar is indicated for HER2-positive patients with breast cancer or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, which are the same indications as trastuzumab. 

Maryann J. Kwa, MD

Articles

Dr. Kwa on the TAILORx Trial in Breast Cancer

Dr. Kwa on the Potential Impact of Biosimilars in Oncology