Abstract:
Objective : To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of trastuzumab plus pertuzumab (HP) combined with taxane + platinum (TCbHP), taxane (THP), and anthracycline sequential taxane (AC-THP) in the neoadjuvant therapy of HER-2 positive breast cancer in real-world clinical practice.
Methods A retrospective investigation was conducted on the clinicopathological data of 180 patients with HER-2 positive breast cancer who received one of the three regimens of neoadjuvant therapy and underwent the follow-up surgeries between June 2019 and December 2021 at 11 3A-grade hospitals, including Baoding NO.1 Central Hospital. Among the patients, 78, 70, and 32 were assigned to the TCbHP, THP, and AC-THP groups, respectively. The effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of the three regimens were compared in addition to examining the influence of clinicopathological factors on the total pathologic complete response (tpCR) rate.
Results The overall tpCR rate was 58.9% (106/180). The TCbHP group’s tpCR rate was 64.1% (50/78), which was higher than THP group’s 54.3% (38/70) and AC-THP group’s 56.3% (18/32), with no significant difference (P= 0.454). The incidence of ≥ grade 3 adverse reactions in the TCbHP group was 12.8% (10/78), which was higher than THP group’s 4.3% (3/70) and AC-THP group’s 9.4% (3/32), with no significant difference (P= 0.255). The THP group completed the given approaches at a rate of 98.6% (69/70), which was higher than TCbHP group’s 92.3% (72/78) and AC-THP group’s 90.6% (29/32), with no significant difference (P= 0.147). The tpCR rates of the 180 patients were 65.4% (70/107) and 49.3% (36/73) in the postmenopausal and premenopausal groups, respectively. In the HER-2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) 3+ group and HER-2 IHC2+ fluorescence in situ hybridization+ group, the tpCR rates were 65.0% (102/157) and 17.4% (4/23), respectively. The hormone receptor (HR)-negative and -positive groups had tpCR rates of 78.0% (64/82) and 42.9% (42/98), respectively. The tpCR rates were 66.3% (65/98) and 50.0% (41/82) in the albumin-bound paclitaxel group and other paclitaxel drug group, respectively. The differences between groups were significant (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression multivariate analysis revealed that HER-2 IHC3+, HR negative, and administered albumin-bound paclitaxel were independent factors affecting the tpCR rate.
Conclusions Neoadjuvant TCbHP, THP, and AC-THP therapy for HER-2-positive breast cancer is effective, safe, and well tolerated in real-world clinical practice. The TCbHP regimen can be considered the preferred neoadjuvant treatment for HER-2-positive breast cancer.