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. 2024 Mar 22;20(19):1299–1307. doi: 10.2217/fon-2023-1079

Prolonging the lives of African–Americans with metastatic breast cancer by adding palbociclib to an aromatase inhibitor in routine clinical practice: a plain language summary of a real-world database study

Hope S Rugo 1, Xianchen Liu 2, Benjamin Li 2, Lynn McRoy 2, Connie Chen 2, Rachel M Layman 3, Tiah Tomlin-Harris 4, Adam Brufsky 5
PMCID: PMC11333971  PMID: 38517416

Abstract

What is this summary about?

This summary is about a study that was published in the medical journal The Oncologist in July 2023. The combination of palbociclib with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) was approved by the FDA in 2015 as a treatment for people with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2−) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, the effectiveness of palbociclib in African–Americans with MBC is not well studied. The goal of this study was to find out whether adding palbociclib to an AI helped African–Americans with HR+/HER2− MBC live longer.

What are the key takeaways?

This study used de-identified medical information from the Flatiron Database. This database contains healthcare information on people with cancer treated by doctors in the United States but personal information is removed to maintain privacy. Medical information for people who received certain treatments in routine clinical practice or real-world setting was included in the study.

This study showed that in the real-world setting, African–Americans with HR+/HER2− MBC lived longer when receiving palbociclib with an AI than with an AI alone. Also, the study showed that African–Americans treated with palbociclib plus an AI lived longer without their cancer getting worse than those treated with an AI alone.

What was the main conclusion reported by the researchers?

These results support the use of palbociclib with an AI as a first treatment for African–Americans with HR+/HER2− MBC.

Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05361655 (ClinicalTrials.gov)

Keywords: : African American, metastatic breast cancer, palbociclib, real-world study

Plain language summary

Effectiveness of palbociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor in African Americans with metastatic breast cancer in routine clinical practice: a plain language summary


This is an abstract of the Plain Language Summary of Publication article.

To read the full Plain Language Summary of this article, click here to view the PDF.

Link to original article here

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the people who contributed to the information used in this study.

Competing interests disclosure

Hope S. Rugo reports sponsored research to her institution from Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG/Genentech, Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Merck & Co., Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, OBI Pharma, Pfizer Inc, Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, Sermonix Pharmaceuticals Inc., Stemline Therapeutics, Taiho Oncology Inc., and Veru Inc. and consultancy/advisory with Puma, NAPO, Mylan, and Daiichi Sankyo. Rachel M. Layman reports advisory/consultancy fees from Novartis, Lilly, Celcuity, Gilead, and Biotheryx and research/grant funding from Pfizer Inc, Novartis, Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Zentalis, Puma, Celcuity, Accutar and Arvinas. Tiah Tomlin-Harris serves on a patient advisory board for Pfizer Inc. Adam Brufsky reports advisory/consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc, Novartis, Lilly, Genentech/Roche, SeaGen, Daiichi Sankyo, Merck, Agendia, Sanofi, and Puma and research support from Agendia and AstraZeneca. The authors have no other competing interests or relevant affiliations with any organization or entity with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Financial interests disclosure

Funding for this plain language summary was provided by Pfizer Inc. Xianchen Liu, Benjamin Li, Lynn McRoy, and Connie Chen are employees of and stockholders in Pfizer Inc. The authors have no other financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Writing disclosure

Medical writing support was provided by Kevin M. Woolfrey, PhD, of Oxford PharmaGenesis Inc., Newtown, PA, USA, according to Good Publication Practice guidelines (GPP2022), and was funded by Pfizer Inc.


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