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Oral etoposide in heavily pre-treated metastatic breast cancer: results from the ESME cohort and comparison with other chemotherapy regimens

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Abstract

Introduction

HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a common setting in which chemotherapy could be effective even in later lines of treatment. Oral etoposide has demonstrated clinical activity in this setting in small-scale studies, but its efficacy has not been compared to that of other chemotherapy regimens.

Methods

We used the ESME database (Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics), a real-life national French multicentre cohort of MBC patients initiating therapy between 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2014. HER2-negative MBC patients who received oral etoposide as > 3rd chemotherapy line and for more than 14 days were included. Primary objective was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary objectives were overall survival (OS), and propensity-score matched Cox models including comparison with other therapies in the same setting.

Results

Three hundred forty-five out of 16,702 patients received oral etoposide and 222 were eligible. Median PFS was 3.2 months [95% CI 2.8–4] and median OS 7.3 months [95% CI 5.7–10.3]. Median PFS did not significantly differ according to the therapeutic line. The only prognostic factor for both PFS and OS was the MBC phenotype (hormone receptor-positive versus triple-negative, HR = 0.71 [95% CI 0.52–0.97], p = 0.028 for PFS and HR = 0.65 [0.46–0.92], p = 0.014 for OS). After matching for the propensity score, no differential effect on PFS or OS was observed between oral etoposide and other chemotherapy regimens administered in the same setting (HR = 0.94 [95% CI 0.77–1.15], p = 0.55 for PFS and HR = 1.10 [95% CI 0.88–1.37], p = 0.40 for OS).

Conclusion

Oral etoposide retains some efficacy in selected heavily pre-treated patients with HER2-negative MBC, with the advantages of oral administration.

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Funding

This work was supported by R&D UNICANCER. The ESME MBC database is supported by an industrial consortium (Roche, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, MSD, Eisai and Daiichi Sankyo). Data collection, analyses and publications are totally managed by R&D UNICANCER independently of the industrial consortium.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Curie, 35 rue Dailly, 92210, Saint-Cloud, France

    Luc Cabel, Matthieu Carton, Jean-Yves Pierga & Florence Lerebours

  2. Gustave Roussy, 94805, Villejuif, France

    Bianca Cheaib

  3. Institut Claudius regaud-IUCT-Oncopole, 31059, Toulouse, France

    Florence Dalenc

  4. Centre Oscar Lambret, 59000, Lille, France

    Audrey Mailliez

  5. Centre Francois Baclesse, 14000, Caen, France

    Christelle Levy

  6. ICM, 34298, Montpellier, France

    William Jacot

  7. Institut Bergonie, 33000, Bordeaux, France

    Marc Debled

  8. Centre Henri Becquere, 76000, Rouen, France

    Marianne Leheurteur

  9. Centre Georges-Francois Leclerc, 21000, Dijon, France

    Isabelle Desmoulins

  10. Centre Eugene Marquis, 35000, Rennes, France

    Claudia Lefeuvre

  11. Institut Paoli-Calmettes, 13009, Marseille, France

    Anthony Gonçalves

  12. ICL, 54519, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France

    Lionel Uwer

  13. Centre Antoine Lacassagne, 06100, Nice, France

    Jean-Marc Ferrero

  14. Institut Jean Godinot, 51100, Reims, France

    Jean-Christophe Eymard

  15. Centre Paul Strauss, 67065, Strasbourg, France

    Thierry Petit

  16. Centre Jean Perrin, 63011, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Marie-Ange Mouret-Reynier

  17. ICO, 44805, Nantes, France

    Geneviève Perrocheau

  18. R&D Unicancer, 75000, Paris, France

    Irwin Piot & Gaëtane Simon

  19. Centre Léon Bérard, 69373, Lyon, France

    David Pérol

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  1. Luc Cabel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luc Cabel.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The present analysis was approved by an independent ethics committee (Comité De Protection Des Personnes Sud-Est II- 2015-79). No formal dedicated informed consent was required but all patients had approved the re-use of their electronically recorded data. In compliance with French regulations, the ESME MBC database was authorized by the French data protection authority (Authorization No. 1704113).

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Cabel, L., Carton, M., Cheaib, B. et al. Oral etoposide in heavily pre-treated metastatic breast cancer: results from the ESME cohort and comparison with other chemotherapy regimens. Breast Cancer Res Treat 173, 397–406 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-018-5017-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-018-5017-2

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