Dr. Hamilton on the Results of the nextMONARCH Trial in Patients With HR+/HER2- Breast Cancer

Erika P. Hamilton, MD, director of the Breast Cancer and Gynecologic Cancer Research Program and principal investigator at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses ​the final overall survival (OS) results from the ​randomized, phase 2 nextMONARCH trial in patients with hormone receptor (HR)–positive​, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

​Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to receive the combination of abemaciclib (Verzenio) ​and tamoxifen, 150 mg of abemaciclib monotherapy, or 200 mg of abemaciclib plus prophylactic loperamide, says Hamilton.

However, investigators reported an OS benefit in patients who received the combination of tamoxifen and abemaciclib versus 200 mg of abemaciclib monotherapy. The median OS was 24​.2 months versus 17 months, respectively.

These findings are encouraging, especially for patients with metastatic disease who did not receive CDK4​/6 inhibitors in addition to those who do ​not tolerate endocrine therapy ​well, Hamilton concludes.