The epidemiology, treatments and outcomes of patients with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, node-positive early breast cancer in Taiwan.

Aim: Estimate patient counts, treatment patterns and outcomes of a subset of patients with early breast cancer (EBC) presenting with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, node positive features, who are at high-risk of recurrence, in Taiwan. Materials & methods: Data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and Taiwan Cancer Registry from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020 were analyzed. Results: There were 4500 patients with high-risk EBC (10.4% of all patients with EBC) from 2012 to 2018, with an annual average incidence of 643 that increased over time. Five-year progression was 24.8% in patients with high-risk EBC and 8-year survival was low (69.6%). Conclusion: Patients with hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, node positive high-risk EBC clinical features are an increasing high-risk subset of all patients with EBC. Article highlights A subset of patients with early breast cancer (EBC) (i.e., hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, stage IA–IIIC patients) presenting with node-positive characteristics and high-risk clinical features ('high-risk'), are at higher risk of recurrence. This study used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and Taiwan Cancer Registry to understand the patient population facing this higher risk in Taiwan. There were 4500 patients with high-risk EBC (10.4% of all patients with EBC) from 2012 to 2018, with an annual average incidence of 643, which increased annually. Within both the adjuvant therapy only and in combination with neoadjuvant therapy, the triple therapy combination of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy was the most common treatment. Within hormone therapy, tamoxifen and letrozole were the most used treatments. Five-year progression was higher in the EBC high-risk cohort compared with all patients with EBC cohort. Eight-year survival was low in patients with high-risk EBC. Novel treatments and innovations are needed to alleviate patient burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]