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Background: The introduction of trastuzumab biosimilars in clinical practice plays an important role in promoting the sustainability of healthcare systems. By contrast, the switching process can be challenging to the clinics. This survey describes the switching process at a National Cancer Institute over a period of 2 years. Methods: Data regarding all trastuzumab-based regimens for breast cancer (BC) from 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020 were extracted from both adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reporting systems and electronic systems involved in inventory management, prescribing, dispensing, and administration. Both patients under monotherapy and combination treatment regimens were included. There were no exclusion criteria. Results and Conclusions: Overall 354 patients received at least one trastuzumab-based regimen for a total of 493 lines of treatment and 5769 administrations. Biosimilar were used in 34.3% of trastuzumab-based treatments. No differences between biosimilars and reference drug have been observed in terms of ADRs. The effective cost-saving of the first 2 years is greater than EUR 800,000 and it is estimated to increase over time.

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease consisting of different biological subtypes, with differences in terms of incidence, response to diverse treatments, risk of disease progression, and sites of metastases. In the last years, several molecular targets have emerged and new drugs, targeting PI3K/Akt/mTOR and cyclinD/CDK/pRb pathways and tumor microenvironment have been integrated into clinical practice. However, it is clear now that breast cancer is able to develop resistance to these drugs and the identification of the underlying molecular mechanisms is paramount to drive further drug development. Autophagy is a highly conserved homeostatic process that can be activated in response to antineoplastic agents as a cytoprotective mechanism. Inhibition of autophagy could enhance tumor cell death by diverse anti-cancer therapies, representing an attractive approach to control mechanisms of drug resistance. In this manuscript, we present a review of autophagy focusing on its interplay with targeted drugs used for breast cancer treatment.

Deregulation of cell cycle, via cyclin D/CDK/pRb pathway, is frequently observed in breast cancer lending support to the development of drugs targeting the cell cycle control machinery, like the inhibitors of the cycline-dependent kinases (CDK) 4 and 6. Up to now, three CDK4/6 inhibitors have been approved by FDA for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive (HR+), HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. These agents have been effective in improving the clinical outcomes, but the development of intrinsic or acquired resistance can limit the efficacy of these treatments. Clinical and translational research is now focused on investigation of the mechanism of sensitivity/resistance to CDK4/6 inhibition and novel therapeutic strategies aimed to improve clinical outcomes. This review summarizes the available knowledge regarding CDK4/6 inhibitor, the discovery of new biomarkers of response, and the biological rationale for new combination strategies of treatment.

The introduction of CDK4/6 inhibitors in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) represents the most relevant advance in the management of hormone receptor (HR) positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer over the last few years. This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is aimed to better characterize the efficacy of CDK4/6 inhibitors in some relevant subgroups and to test heterogeneity between different compounds with a particular focus on their ability to improve overall survival (OS). Pooled estimates of hazard ratios (HRs) were computed for progression-free survival (PFS), OS, and objective response rate (ORR) analysis in predefined subgroups to better understand treatment effect concerning specific patients’ characteristics. To estimate the absolute benefit in terms of PFS, pooled survival curves were generated by pooling the data of all trials. A total of eight RCTs were included. Adding a CDK4/6 inhibitor to ET is beneficial in terms of PFS, irrespective of the presence or not of visceral metastases, the number of metastatic sites, and the length of the treatment-free interval (TFI). The addition of CDK4/6 inhibitors produces a significant OS improvement, both in aromatase inhibitor (AI)-sensitive (HR 0.75, 95% CI) and AI-resistant patients (HR 0.77, 95% CI [0.67–0.89]). Pooled data from each single drug show that palbociclib remains the only class member not showing a statistically significant HR for OS (HR 0.83, 95% CI [0.68–1.02]).

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous group of tumors characterized by aggressive behavior, high risk of distant recurrence, and poor survival. Chemotherapy is still the main therapeutic approach for this subgroup of patients, therefore, progress in the treatment of TNBC remains an important challenge. Data derived from molecular technologies have identified TNBCs with different gene expression and mutation profiles that may help developing targeted therapies. So far, however, only a few of these have shown to improve the prognosis and outcomes of TNBC patients. Robust predictive biomarkers to accelerate clinical progress are needed. Herein, we review prognostic and predictive biomarkers in TNBC, discuss the current evidence supporting their use, and look at the future of this research field.

e12532 Background: Addition of CDKi to ET in ER-positive mBC has proven effective in improving both progression-freesurvival (PFS) and Objective Response Rate (ORR). However, no randomized clinical trial (RCT) has so far shown a significant increase of Overall Survival (OS). We carried out a metanalysis of all RTCs to better characterize the efficacy of CDK4/6i in some relevant subgroups, with particular reference to OS. Methods: Literature search of main databases was carried out up to 08 Dec 2018. Hazard ratios (HRs) for PFS and OS and risk ratios (RRs) for ORR were extracted/calculated for each trial and then pooled by using both fixed and random effect model. Confidence intervals (CIs) at 95% were calculated for each statistics. Kaplan-Meier meta-curves were generated by pooling data of all trials, among ET sensitive and ET resistant pts. Results: Eight RCTs were included accounting for a total of 4580 pts, 2802 receiving a CDKi (palbociclib, ribociclib or abemaciclib) in association with ET (NSAI, tamoxifene or fulvestrant) and 1778 receiving ET alone or plus placebo. Pooled analysis of HRs showed a significant improvement in PFS, regardless ET sensitivity, disease site, number of metastatic sites and treatment free interval. Analysis of OS included 3 RCTs with a total of 1243 pts and showed a statistically significant improvement of OS (HR 0.769 [95% CI 0.638, 0.926], p-value 0.006). Pooled estimate for RR showed higher ORR in CDK 4/6 arm both in ET sensitive (RR 1.35 [95% CI 1.19, 1.52]) and ET resistant group (RR 2.19 [95% CI 1.66, 2.89]). Similarly, pts with measurable disease showed a RR of 1.34 (95% CI 1.20, 1.50) in ET sensitive group and 2.26 (95% CI 1.72, 2.96) in ET resistant group. Pooled survival curves showed an absolute benefit in PFS, both in ET sensitive (median PFS: NR vs 15 months) and ET resistant (median PFS: 19.2 vs 8.9 months). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that addition of CDKi to ET improve clinical outcome in terms of PFS, ORR and OS, irrespective of pts/tumor characteristics.