Abstract
What is this summary about?
This summary describes an article published in the medical journal Frontiers in Oncology in September 2023. The article reports results from a study that looked at breast cancer treatments for older patients aged 75 years or older. The study focused on a type of cancer called HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. HR+/HER2- stands for hormone receptorpositive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative. This study evaluated whether older patients with this type of cancer benefited from the combination of two medicines – palbociclib and an aromatase inhibitor – compared with taking an aromatase inhibitor alone.
How was the study in this summary carried out?
The Flatiron database contains medical records for people with cancer in the US. This study used deidentified health care information from this database. ‘Deidentified’ means that all information that could identify an individual was removed to protect individuals' privacy. People in this study received treatment in routine care and not in a clinical trial.
What do the results mean?
Older patients who took palbociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor lived longer than those who took an aromatase inhibitor alone. Older patients who took palbociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor also lived longer without their cancer getting worse and started chemotherapy later than those who took an aromatase inhibitor alone. These results support using palbociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor as the first treatment for patients aged 75 years or older with HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.
Keywords: : aromatase inhibitor, elderly, metastatic breast cancer, palbociclib, plain language summary
Tweetable abstract
This study evaluated outcomes in elderly patients with metastatic breast cancer treated in routine care. Overall, patients who took palbociclib plus an aromatase inhibitor (AI) lived longer, and lived longer without their cancer getting worse, than those who took an AI alone.
This is an abstract of the Plain Language Summary of Publication article.
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Link to original article here
Acknowledgments
The authors thank all the people who contributed to the information used in this study.
Competing interests disclosure
Adam Brufsky has received grants from Agendia and AstraZeneca, and consulting fees or honoraria from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Genentech/Roche, Seagen, Daiichi Sankyo, Merck, Agendia, Sanofi, and Puma. Xianchen Liu, Benjamin Li, Lynn McRoy, and Connie Chen are employees of and stockholders in Pfizer. Rachel M. Layman reports advisory/consultancy fees from Novartis, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Celcuity, and research/grant funding from Pfizer, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Zentalis, Puma, Celcuity, Accutar Biotechnology, and Arvinas. Hope S Rugo reports sponsored research to her institution from Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Eli Lilly, Roche, Daiichi-Sankyo, Seagen, Macrogenics, Sermonix, Boehringer Ingelheim, Polyphor, AstraZeneca, Ayala, and Gilead, and honoraria from Puma, Samsung, and Mylan. 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 disclosure
This study was sponsored by Pfizer Inc. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or 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 apart from those disclosed.
Writing disclosure
Medical writing support was provided by Diana Avery, PhD, of Oxford PharmaGenesis Inc., Newtown (PA, USA) according to Good Publication Practice guidelines (GPP3), and was funded by Pfizer Inc.