ESMO 2018: Dr. Verma Sheds Light on Breast Cancer Data

Sunil Verma, MD, professor and head of the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary, medical director of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, discusses his thoughts on the breast cancer findings presented during the 2018 ESMO Congress.

Findings of the phase III IMpassion130 trial showed that addition of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) reduced the risk of progression or death by 38% compared with nab-paclitaxel alone in patients with PD-L1—positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This was the first phase III trial to demonstrate the benefit of immunotherapy in the first-line setting of TNBC.

The phase III SOLAR-1 trial evaluated the addition of the PI3K inhibitor alpelisib (BYL719) to fulvestrant (Faslodex). This addition nearly doubled median progression-free survival compared with the endocrine therapy alone in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who have a PIK3CA mutation. These were the first study findings to show a benefit in a genomic subgroup of patients with breast cancer, and these data are expected heighten the use of genomic testing in the malignancy.

An analysis of the phase III PALOMA-3 study showed that the combination of palbociclib (Ibrance) plus fulvestrant led to a clinically meaningful benefit in overall survival in patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who had progressed or relapsed on prior endocrine therapy. These findings provide evidence for the use of palbociclib plus fulvestrant as a standard of care in previously treated patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.