Efficacy of first-line CDK 4-6 inhibitors in premenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer and the effect of dose reduction due to treatment-related neutropenia on efficacy: a Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) study.

The only phase 3 study on the effectiveness of CDK 4-6 inhibitors in first-line treatment in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor (HR) positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer is the MONALEESA-7 study, and data on the effectiveness of palbociclib is limited. Data are also limited regarding the effectiveness of CDK 4-6 inhibitors in patients whose dose was reduced due to neutropenia, the most common side effect of CDK 4-6 inhibitors. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of palbociclib and ribociclib in first-line treatment in patients with premenopausal metastatic breast cancer and the effect of dose reduction due to neutropenia on progression-free survival. Our study is a multicenter, retrospective study, and factors affecting progression-free survival (PFS) were examined in patients diagnosed with metastatic premenopausal breast cancer from 29 different centers and receiving combination therapy containing palbociclib or ribociclib in the metastatic stage. 319 patients were included in the study. The mPFS for patients treated with palbociclib was 26.83 months, and for those receiving ribociclib, the mPFS was 29.86 months (p = 0.924). mPFS was 32.00 months in patients who received a reduced dose, and mPFS was 25.96 months in patients who could take the initial dose, and there was no statistical difference (p = 0.238). Liver metastasis, using a fulvestrant together with a CDK 4-6 inhibitor, ECOG PS 1 was found to be a negative prognostic factor. No new adverse events were observed. In our study, we found PFS over 27 months in patients diagnosed with premenopausal breast cancer with CDK 4-6 inhibitors used in first-line treatment, similar to post-menopausal patients. We did not detect any difference between the effectiveness of the two CDK 4-6 inhibitors, and we showed that there was no decrease in the effectiveness of the CDK 4-6 inhibitor in patients whose dose was reduced due to neutropenia.

Comparing female-based contraceptive methods in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and a healthy population.

AIM: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease that is 10 times more prevalent in women, particularly those of reproductive age. The varying effects of pregnancy on SLE and the differences between available SLE treatments make pregnancy timing and contraceptive methods significant. We aimed to determine the contraceptive methods used by SLE patients in the north-west part of Turkey, and compared them with those used by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthy controls. METHOD: The study was comprised of 113 SLE patients, and 84 RA patients at the Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic of Uludag University Medical Faculty. RESULTS: Twenty-three (20.3%) out of 113 SLE patients, 18 (21.4%) out of 84 RA patients and 17 (18.6%) out of 92 healthy controls did not use any contraceptive methods. Use of the withdrawal and condom methods was more common among SLE patients, accounting for 61% (withdrawal 32.7%, condom 28.3%). Moreover, 52% of SLE and 50% of RA patients were neither given information about contraceptive methods nor offered a suggested method, compared to 34% in the health control group. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of oral contraceptive use is low in Turkey; notwithstanding the withdrawal and condom methods, which are frequently used despite their high failure risk. Although pregnancy timing is of great importance for SLE patients, necessary information and recommendations concerning contraceptive methods have been ignored and the use of effective methods is not a priority.

The time course of gastric methotrexate intolerance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and the time course of methotrexate (MTX)-associated gastric intolerance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. METHODS: Four hundred twenty subjects undergoing MTX treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (n = 346) and psoriatic arthritis (n = 74) were retrospectively assessed. The incidence and time course of gastric MTX intolerance resulting in treatment discontinuation were investigated. In addition, the relations between gastric intolerance and patient characteristics, including gender, age, diagnosis, and rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity, were examined. RESULTS: Overall, oral MTX discontinuation rate due to gastric intolerance was 28.6 %. The time to discontinuation for oral MTX was 8.1 ± 11.5 months on average, with more than half of the discontinuations occurring within the first three months of treatment. Discontinuation was not associated with gender, age, diagnosis, or RF positivity. More than half of the patients that switched to a parenteral treatment regimen (52.6 %, 20/38) could tolerate the agent. CONCLUSIONS: Gastric MTX intolerance usually develops within the first year of treatment and presents a major obstacle to long-term treatment retention in patients with rheumatologic disease. However, parenteral MTX appears to be a good alternative for patients intolerant of oral MTX.