Key clinical point: Adding trastuzumab to chemotherapy in patients with early-stage, epidermal growth hormone receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer lowers the rate of recurrence and mortality from breast cancer.
Major finding: Trastuzumab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone significantly reduced the rates of breast cancer recurrence (rate ratio [RR], 0.66; P < 0.0001) and death from breast cancer (RR, 0.67; P < 0.0001). The average absolute reduction in 10-year risk of recurrence was 9.0% ( P < 0.0001) and in 10-year breast cancer mortality was 6.4% ( P < 0.0001).
Study details : This was a meta-analysis of individual patient data from 7 randomized trials including 13,864 patients with early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer who were randomly assigned to trastuzumab plus chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone.
Disclosures: The study was funded by Cancer Research UK and the UK Medical Research Council. The authors declared grants, contracts, consulting/speaker/advisory fees, patents, royalties, and support for attending meetings and travel. Dr. H Joensuu reported a leadership/fiduciary role and stock or stock options from Orion Pharma.
Source: Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). Lancet Oncol. 2021;22(8):1139-1150. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00288-6 .