Febrile neutropaenia and chemotherapy discontinuation in women aged 70 years or older receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer.

AIMS: Low rates of adjuvant chemotherapy use are frequently reported in older women with early breast cancer. One of the reasons for this may be the risk of febrile neutropaenia or the perception that older patients will probably not complete the chemotherapy course prescribed. There are no data regarding these adverse outcomes in routine clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified 128 patients aged 70 years or over who received neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer in seven UK cancer centres between 2006 and 2012. Data were collected regarding standard clinical and pathological variables and treatment toxicity and outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (19%) had an episode of febrile neutropaenia. Overall, 27 patients (21%) did not complete their planned therapy. Chemotherapy discontinuation was more common in those patients with an episode of febrile neutropaenia (46% versus 16%, P = 0.004). Thirty patients (23%) were admitted with chemotherapy-related complications. There were no treatment-related deaths. CONCLUSIONS: The rates of febrile neutropaenia and treatment discontinuation are high in women aged 70 years or over receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Close attention should be paid to the choice or regimen and the use of supportive therapies in this patient population.

Retreatment with trastuzumab-based therapy after disease progression following lapatinib in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical data suggest that treatment with lapatinib reinduces sensitivity to trastuzumab in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-positive breast cancer cells. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2007 and November 2010, 179 HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients were treated with lapatinib and capecitabine at nine Italian institutions. We evaluated the clinical outcome of 69 patients (38.5%) retreated with trastuzumab after lapatinib progression. RESULTS: Visceral metastases were identified in 51 (74%) and brain metastases in 16 patients (23%). All patients were pretreated with both trastuzumab- and lapatinib-based therapy. We observed with retreatment with trastuzumab-based therapy: 1 complete remission (2%), 18 partial remission (29%) and 10 stable disease ≥6 months (14%) and 47% of clinical benefit (CB). Median duration of response was 8.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.5-10.7]. No unexpected toxic effects occurred. At a median follow-up of 13 months, median progression-free survival was 4.9 months (95% CI 4.2-5.6) and overall survival (OS) 19.4 months (95% CI 14.0-25.0). Median OS was longer for patients experiencing CB (not reached versus 13.4 months for patients without CB, P = 0.002). Brain involvement was associated with lower median OS (17.3 versus 23.3 months for patients without brain disease; P = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Retreatment with trastuzumab-based therapy showed CB in 47% of patients progressing during lapatinib-based therapy, leading to a prolonged OS.