Target trial emulation to assess real-world efficacy in the Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics metastatic breast cancer cohort.

BACKGROUND: Real-world data studies usually consider biases related to measured confounders. We emulate a target trial implementing study design principles of randomized trials to observational studies; controlling biases related to selection, especially immortal time; and measured confounders. METHODS: This comprehensive analysis emulating a randomized clinical trial compared overall survival in patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC), receiving as first-line treatment, either paclitaxel alone or combined to bevacizumab. We used data from 5538 patients extracted from the Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics-MBC cohort to emulate a target trial using advanced statistical adjustment techniques including stabilized inverse-probability weighting and G-computation, dealing with missing data with multiple imputation, and performing a quantitative bias analysis for residual bias due to unmeasured confounders. RESULTS: Emulation led to 3211 eligible patients, and overall survival estimates achieved with advanced statistical methods favored the combination therapy. Real-world effect sizes were close to that assessed in the existing E2100 randomized clinical trial (hazard ratio = 0.88, P = .16), but the increased sample size allowed to achieve a higher level of precision in real-world estimates (ie, reduced confidence intervals). Quantitative bias analysis confirmed the robustness of the results with respect to potential unmeasured confounding. CONCLUSION: Target trial emulation with advanced statistical adjustment techniques is a promising approach to investigate long-term impact of innovative therapies in the French Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics-MBC cohort while minimizing biases and provides opportunities for comparative efficacy through the synthetic control arms provided. DATABASE REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT03275311.

Association between progression-free survival and overall survival in women receiving first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer: evidence from the ESME real-world database.

BACKGROUND: Overall survival (OS) is the gold standard endpoint to assess treatment efficacy in cancer clinical trials. In metastatic breast cancer (mBC), progression-free survival (PFS) is commonly used as an intermediate endpoint. Evidence remains scarce regarding the degree of association between PFS and OS. Our study aimed to describe the individual-level association between real-world PFS (rwPFS) and OS according to first-line treatment in female patients with mBC managed in real-world setting for each BC subtype (defined by status for both hormone-receptor [HR] expression and HER2 protein expression/gene amplification). METHODS: We extracted data from the ESME mBC database (NCT03275311) which gathers deidentified data from consecutive patients managed in 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Adult women diagnosed with mBC between 2008 and 2017 were included. Endpoints (PFS, OS) were described using the Kaplan-Meier method. Individual-level associations between rwPFS and OS were estimated using the Spearman's correlation coefficient. Analyses were conducted by tumor subtype. RESULTS: 20,033 women were eligible. Median age was 60.0 years. Median follow-up duration was 62.3 months. Median rwPFS ranged from 6.0 months (95% CI 5.8-6.2) for HR-/HER2 - subtype to 13.3 months (36% CI 12.7-14.3) for HR + /HER2 + subtype. Correlation coefficients were highly variable across subtypes and first-line (L1) treatments. Among patients with HR - /HER2 - mBC, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.73 to 0.81, suggesting a strong rwPFS/OS association. For HR + /HER2 + mBC patients, the individual-level associations were weak to strong with coefficients ranging from 0.33 to 0.43 for monotherapy and from 0.67 to 0.78 for combined therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides comprehensive information on individual-level association between rwPFS and OS for L1 treatments in mBC women managed in real-life practice. Our results could be used as a basis for future research dedicated to surrogate endpoint candidates.

Outcomes of patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer after platinum- and non-platinum-based first-line chemotherapy among patients with and without pathogenic germline BRCA1/2 mutations.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and added benefit of platinum-based chemotherapy (PtCT) for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) remain unclear in patients with and without germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations (gBRCA1/2m and gBRCA1/2wt, respectively). METHODS: We selected from the French national real-world multicentre ESME cohort (2008-2016) all patients with HER2-negative MBC with known gBRCA1/2 status at first-line chemotherapy initiation. Using multivariable Cox models, we compared the outcome (progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS)) of first-line PtCT and non-PtCT regimens based on the patients' gBRCA1/2 status and tumour subtype. RESULTS: Patients who received PtCT had more aggressive tumour features. In the multivariable analysis, first-line PtCT was associated with better adjusted PFS and OS in gBRCA1/2m carriers (N = 300), compared with non-PtCT (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.4-0.73, P < 0.001, and HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.49-0.99, P = 0.047, respectively). Conversely, outcomes were similar in gBRCA1/2wt patients (N = 922) treated with PtCT and non-PtCT, whatever the tumour subtype. Landmark analyses at months 3 and 6 post treatment initiation supported these results. CONCLUSIONS: In this pre-PARP inhibitor real-world cohort, PFS and OS were better after PtCT than non-PtCT in patients with gBRCA1/2m, but not in those with gBRCA1/2wt. These results emphasise the need of early gBRCA1/2 testing in patients with MBC. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: NCT03275311.

Cyclic fertilin-derived peptide stimulates in vitro human embryo development.

OBJECTIVE: To study the cyclic fertilin peptide effects on preimplantation human embryogenesis. Cyclic fertilin peptide reproduces the structure of the binding site of the sperm Fertilin ß (also named A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease 2: ADAM2) disintegrin domain. It binds to the oocyte membrane and increases sperm-oocyte fusion index in human and fertilization rate in mouse, providing healthy pups. It also improves human oocyte maturation and chromosome segregation in meiosis I and binds to human embryo blastomeres, suggesting that it has a membrane receptor. DESIGN: Thawed human embryos at the 3 to 4 cells stage were randomly included in a dose-response study with cyclic fertilin peptide. Inner cell mass (ICM), trophectoderm (TE), and total cell numbers were evaluated in top- and good-quality blastocysts. SETTING: The study was performed in an academic hospital and research laboratory. PATIENT(S): Human embryos donated for research. This project was approved by the French "Agence de la Biomédecine." INTERVENTION(S): Immunofluorescence and tissue-specific gene expression analysis, using Clariom D microarrays, were performed to study its mechanism of action. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Cyclic fertilin peptide improves blastocyst formation by almost 20%, the concentration of 1 µM being the lowest most efficient concentration. It significantly increases twice the TE cell number, without modifying the ICM. It increases the in vitro hatching rate from 14% to 45%. RESULT(S): Cyclic fertilin peptide stimulates TE growth. In the ICM, it induces transcriptional activation of intracellular protein and vesicle-mediated transport. CONCLUSION(S): Cyclic fertilin peptide dramatically improves human embryo development potential. It could be used to supplement culture medium and improve the in vitro human embryo development. Starting supplementation immediately after fertilization, instead of day 2, could significantly upgrade assisted reproductive technology outcome.

Treatment strategies for unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the real-life ESME cohort.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin-based chemotherapy administered concurrently to thoracic radiation therapy is the recommended treatment for fit patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC. The aim of this study was to describe patient profiles and clinical outcomes for the different treatment strategies in a real-word setting. METHODS: The epidemio-strategy and medical economics (ESME) database for advanced and metastatic lung cancer is a French, national, multicenter, observational cohort. Out of 8514 Patients, 822 patients with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC in 2015-016 were selected (mean age, 65.3 years; male gender, 69%; performance status 0-1, 77%; smokers or former smokers, 89%). RESULTS: Treatment was initiated for 736 (90%) of patients (concurrent chemoradiotherapy, n = 283; sequential chemoradiotherapy, n = 121; chemotherapy alone, n = 194; radiotherapy alone, n = 121; targeted therapy alone, n = 8; other, n = 9). Compared to the other treatment strategy groups, patients with radiotherapy alone appeared the most fragile (e.g. higher age, lower body weight or higher frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). OS rates at 12 and 24 months were 79.5% (95% CI, 73.4-84.3) and 55.3% (95% CI, 44.9-64.5) for concurrent chemoradiotherapy, and 64.3% (95% CI, 52.8-73.8) and 53.2 (95% CI, 33.2-69.6) for sequential chemoradiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Real-world evidence shows that concurrent chemoradiotherapy is administered to the most fit patients with non resectable locally-advanced NSCLC. Clinical outcomes are actually higher than those reported in landmark clinical trials, which suggests that an optimized and individualized selection of patients allows for prolonged survival. Long-term outcomes are similar after sequential or concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Addressing the issue of bias in observational studies: Using instrumental variables and a quasi-randomization trial in an ESME research project.

PURPOSE: Observational studies using routinely collected data are faced with a number of potential shortcomings that can bias their results. Many methods rely on controlling for measured and unmeasured confounders. In this work, we investigate the use of instrumental variables (IV) and quasi-trial analysis to control for unmeasured confounders in the context of a study based on the retrospective Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME) database, which compared overall survival (OS) with paclitaxel plus bevacizumab or paclitaxel alone as first-line treatment in patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Causal interpretations and estimates can be made from observation data using IV and quasi-trial analysis. Quasi-trial analysis has the same conceptual basis as IV, however, instead of using IV in the analysis, a "superficial" or "pseudo" randomized trial is used in a Cox model. For instance, in a multicenter trial, instead of using the treatment variable, quasi-trial analysis can consider the treatment preference in each center, which can be informative, and then comparisons of results between centers or clinicians can be informative. RESULTS: In the original analysis, the OS adjusted for major factors was significantly longer with paclitaxel and bevacizumab than with paclitaxel alone. Using the center-treatment preference as an instrument yielded to concordant results. For the quasi-trial analysis, a Cox model was used, adjusted on all factors initially used. The results consolidate those obtained with a conventional multivariate Cox model. CONCLUSION: Unmeasured confounding is a major concern in observational studies, and IV or quasi-trial analysis can be helpful to complement analysis of studies of this nature.

Outcome beyond third-line chemotherapy for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer in the French ESME program.

PURPOSE: Among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, those with a triple-negative breast cancer phenotype (mTNBC) have the worst prognosis, but the benefit of chemotherapy beyond second line on outcome remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to identify predictive factors of outcome after third- or fourth-line chemotherapy. METHODS: The ESME-MBC database is a French prospective real-life cohort with homogeneous data collection, including patients who initiated first-line treatment for MBC (2008-2016) in 18 cancer centers. After selection of mTNBC cases, we searched for independent predictive factors (Cox proportional-hazards regression models) for overall survival (OS) on third- and fourth-line chemotherapy (OS3, OS4). We built prognostic nomograms based on the main prognostic factors identified. RESULTS: Of the 22,266 MBC cases in the ESME cohort, 2903 were mTNBC, 1074 (37%) and 598 (20%) of which had received at least 3 or 4 lines of chemotherapy. PFS after first- and second-line chemotherapy (PFS1, PFS2) and number of metastatic sites ≥3 at baseline were identified by multivariate analysis as prognostic factors for both OS3 (HR = 0.76 95%CI[0.66-0.88], HR = 0.55 95%CI[0.46-0.65], HR = 1.36 95%CI[1.14-1.62], respectively), and OS4 (HR = 0.76 95%CI[0.63-0.91], HR = 0.56 95%CI[0.45-0.7], HR = 1.37 95%CI[1.07-1.74]), respectively. In addition, metastasis-free interval was identified as a prognostic factor for OS3 (p = 0.01), while PFS3 influenced OS4 (HR = 0.75 95%CI[0.57-0.98]). Nomograms predicting OS3 and OS4 achieved a C-index of 0.62 and 0.61, respectively. CONCLUSION: The duration of each previous PFS is a major prognostic factor for OS in mTNBC patients receiving third- or fourth-line chemotherapy. The clinical utility of nomograms including this information was not demonstrated.

Impact of body mass index on overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: High Body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for breast cancer among postmenopausal women and an adverse prognostic factor in early-stage. Little is known about its impact on clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). METHODS: The National ESME-MBC observational cohort includes all consecutive patients newly diagnosed with MBC between Jan 2008 and Dec 2016 in the 18 French comprehensive cancer centers. RESULTS: Of 22 463 patients in ESME-MBC, 12 999 women had BMI data available at MBC diagnosis. Median BMI was 24.9 kg/m2 (range 12.1-66.5); 20% of women were obese and 5% underweight. Obesity was associated with more de novo MBC, while underweight patients had more aggressive cancer features. Median overall survival (OS) of the BMI cohort was 47.4 months (95% CI [46.2-48.5]) (median follow-up: 48.6 months). Underweight was independently associated with a worse OS (median OS 33 months; HR 1.14, 95%CI, 1.02-1.27) and first line progression-free survival (HR, 1.11; 95%CI, 1.01; 1.22), while overweight or obesity had no effect. CONCLUSION: Overweight and obesity are not associated with poorer outcomes in women with metastatic disease, while underweight appears as an independent adverse prognostic factor.

Real-world Evaluation of Oral Vinorelbine in the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer: An ESME-MBC Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Vinorelbine is indicated for use in the treatment of MBC as a single agent or in combination but there is little real world data on this molecule and even less on its oral form. We exploited the Unicancer Epidemiology Strategy Medical-Economics (ESME) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) database to investigate current patterns of use of oral vinorelbine (OV), as well as outcomes of patients receiving this drug. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively from women and men treated for MBC between 2008 and 2014 at one of 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centres. The efficacy of OV was evaluated in terms of progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) and treatment duration. The population and patterns of OV usage were also described. RESULTS: A total of 1806 patients (11% of the ESME MBC database) were included in this analysis. OV was prescribed as monotherapy (46%) or in combination (29%), especially with capecitabine. mainly in later treatment lines. Median PFS was 3.3 months: 2.9 months for single agent, 3.6 months for combination therapy. Median OS was 40.9 months. CONCLUSION: Real-world data offer complementary results to the data from traditional clinical trials, but they concern a much larger population. In this ESME MBC cohort, OV was only prescribed to a small subset of MBC patients. OV was mainly given as single agent to patients with heavily pre-treated MBC; less commonly, it was co-administered with capecitabine or anti-HER2, in earlier lines of therapy. PFS was modest but in line with previous reports.

Impact of age at diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer on overall survival in the real-life ESME metastatic breast cancer cohort.

BACKGROUND: Young age is a poor prognostic factor in early stage breast cancer (BC) but its value is less established in metastatic BC (MBC). We evaluated the impact of age at MBC diagnosis on overall survival (OS) across three age groups (<40, 40 to 60 and > 60 years(y)). METHODS: ESME MBC database is a national cohort, collecting retrospective data from 18 participating French cancer centers between January 01, 2008 and December 31, 2014. RESULTS: Among 14 403 women included, 1077 (7.5%), 6436 (44.7%) and 6890 (47.8%) pts were <40, 40-60 and > 60 y respectively. Pts <40 had significantly more aggressive presentations than other age groups: more frequent HER2+ (25.7 vs 15.3% in >60y) and triple negative subtypes (27.4 vs 14.6% in >60y), and more frequent visceral involvement (36.3 vs 29.8% in >60y). At a median follow-up of 48 months, median OS differed across age groups: 38.8, 38.4 and 35.6 months for pts <40, 40-60 and > 60y, respectively (p < 0.0001). Compared to pts <40y, older pts had a statistically significant higher risk of death (all causes of death included), although of limited clinical value (HR = 1.1, IC 95%:1.01-1.20). There was a significant trend for better OS in pts <40y with HER2+ and luminal diseases. A possible explanation is a greater use of anti-Her2 therapies as first-line treatments: 86.6, 81.9 and 74.9% for pts <40, 40-60 and > 60y, respectively (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Although young age seems associated with more aggressive presentations at diagnosis of MBC, it has no deleterious effect on OS in this large series.

Contemporary outcomes of metastatic breast cancer among 22,000 women from the multicentre ESME cohort 2008-2016.

AIM: Real-world data inform the outcome comparisons and help the development of new therapeutic strategies. To this end, we aimed to describe the full characteristics and outcomes in the Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME) cohort, a large national contemporary observational database of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). METHODS: Women aged ≥18 years with newly diagnosed MBC and who initiated MBC treatment between January 2008 and December 2016 in one of the 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centers (N = 22,109) were included. We assessed the full patients' characteristics, first-line treatments, overall survival (OS) and first-line progression-free survival, as well as updated prognostic factors in the whole cohort and among the 3 major subtypes: hormone receptor positive and HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-, n = 13,656), HER2-positive (HER2+, n = 4017) and triple-negative (n = 2963) tumours. RESULTS: The median OS of the whole cohort was 39.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 38.7-40.3). Five-year OS was 33.8%. OS differed significantly between the 3 subtypes (p < 0.0001) with a median OS of 43.3 (95% CI, 42.5-44.5) in HR+/HER2-; 50.1 (95% CI, 47.6-53.1) in HER2+; and 14.8 months (95% CI, 14.1-15.5) in triple-negative subgroups, respectively. Beyond performance status, the following variables had a constant significant negative prognostic impact on OS in the whole cohort and among subtypes: older age at diagnosis of metastases (except for the triple-negative subtype), metastasis-free interval between 6 and 24 months, presence of visceral metastases and number of metastatic sites ≥ 3. CONCLUSIONS: The ESME program represents a unique large-scale real-life cohort on MBC. This study highlights important situations of high medical need within MBC patients. DATABASE REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT032753.

Radiation therapy to the primary tumor for de novo metastatic breast cancer and overall survival in a retrospective multicenter cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: The impact of locoregional treatment (LRT) on overall survival (OS) in de novo metastatic breast cancer (dnMBC) is still under debate, with very few data available regarding exclusive radiotherapy (ERT) as a therapeutic modality. METHODS: We evaluated the impact of ERT, exclusive surgery, or a combination of surgery plus radiotherapy (bimodality therapy, BMT) on survival outcomes in a national real-life dnMBC cohort. The primary and secondary end points were OS and progression free survival (PFS) according to LRT (ERT, exclusive surgery, BMT) and no LRT. Sensitivity analyses were performed using propensity score matched analyses. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2014, 4507 dnMBC patients were identified. Only patients alive and free from progression under systemic therapy at least 1 year after diagnosis were included (n = 1965). Forty-five percent of patients (891/1965) underwent LRT: 41.1% (n = 366) ERT, 13.7% (n = 122) exclusive surgery, and 45.2% (n = 403) BMT. OS adjusted for major prognostic factors was significantly longer in the ERT and BMT group compared with no-LRT group, but not exclusive surgery (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.49, 0.80], p < 0.001, HR = 0.61, 95%CI [0.47, 0.78], p < 0.001 and HR = 0.87, 95%CI [0.61, 1.26], p = 0.466 respectively). Results were similar after matching on a propensity score. ERT, surgery and BMT were all associated with a significantly better PFS in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION: ERT was significantly associated with better OS in dnMBC, in the same magnitude as BMT, compared with no-LRT. However, even with statistical models adjusted for known prognostic factors and propensity score analysis, selection biases cannot be eliminated from observational studies.

Treatment and outcomes in patients with central nervous system metastases from breast cancer in the real-life ESME MBC cohort.

AIM: The aims of the present study were to describe treatment patterns and survival outcomes in patients with central nervous system metastases (CNSM) selected among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients included in a retrospective study from the Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME) MBC cohort. METHODS: Neurological progression-free survival (NPFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Significant contributors to NPFS were determined using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 42.8 months, of 16 701 patients included in the ESME MBC database, CNSM were diagnosed in 24.6% of patients. The most frequent treatments after diagnosis of CNSM were whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) (45.2%) and systemic treatment (59.3%). Median OS and NPFS were 7.9 months (95% CI: 7.2-8.4) and 5.5 months (95% CI: 5.2-5.8), respectively. In multivariate analysis, age >70 years (vs <50 years; HR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.24-1.57), triple-negative tumours (vs HER2-/HR+; HR = 1.87; 95% CI: 1.71-2.06), HER2+/HR-tumours (vs HER2-/HR+; HR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02-1.27), ≥3 metastatic sites (vs < 3; HR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.21-1.43) and ≥3 previous treatment lines (vs < 3; HR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.56-1.96) were detrimental for NPFS. A time interval between selection and CNSM diagnosis superior to 18 months (vs <9 months; HR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.78-0.98) was associated with longer NPFS. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes current treatment patterns of MBC patients in a "real life" setting. Despite advances in stereotactic radiation therapy, most of the patients still received WBRT. More research is warranted to identify patient subsets for tailored treatment strategies.

Impact of breast cancer molecular subtypes on the incidence, kinetics and prognosis of central nervous system metastases in a large multicentre real-life cohort.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) behaviour differs depending on hormone receptors (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) statuses. METHODS: The kinetics of central nervous system (CNS) metastases (CNS metastasis-free survival, CNSM-FS) and subsequent patient's prognosis (overall survival, OS) according to the molecular subtype were retrospectively assessed in 16703 MBC patients of the ESME nationwide multicentre MBC database (Kaplan-Meier method). RESULTS: CNS metastases occurred in 4118 patients (24.6%) (7.2% at MBC diagnosis and 17.5% later during follow-up). Tumours were HER2-/HR+ (45.3%), HER2+/HR+ (14.5%), HER2+/HR- (14.9%) and triple negative (25.4%). Median age at CNS metastasis diagnosis was 58.1 years (range: 22.8-92.0). The median CNSM-FS was 10.8 months (95% CI: 16.5-17.9) among patients who developed CNS metastases. Molecular subtype was independently associated with CNSM-FS (HR = 3.45, 95% CI: 3.18-3.75, triple-negative and HER2-/HR+ tumours). After a 30-month follow-up, median OS after CNS metastasis diagnosis was 7.9 months (95% CI: 7.2-8.4). OS was independently associated with subtypes: median OS was 18.9 months (HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.50-0.64) for HER2+/HR+ , 13.1 months (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.65-0.81) for HER2+/HR-, 4.4 months (HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.42-1.69) for triple-negative and 7.1 months for HER2-/HR+ patients (p <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Tumour molecular subtypes strongly impact incidence, kinetics and prognosis of CNS metastases in MBC patients. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03275311.

Assessment of the efficacy of successive endocrine therapies in hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: a real-life multicentre national study.

BACKGROUND: For luminal metastatic breast cancer (MBC), endocrine therapy (ET) is the recommended initial treatment before chemotherapy. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of multiple ET lines in a real-life study. METHODS: The Breast Cancer Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME) project analysed data from all patients with systemic treatment for MBC initiated between 2008 and 2014 in one of the 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centres. The primary end-point was the successive progression-free survival (PFS) evaluation. RESULTS: The ESME research programme included 9921 patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative (HER2-) MBC. Before any chemotherapy, 4195 (43.4%), 1252 (29.8%) and 279 (6.6%) patients received one, two or three ET ± targeted therapy, respectively. The median PFS for first-, second- and third-line ET ± targeted therapy was 11.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.8-12.1), 5.8 (95% CI, 5.3-6.1) and 5.5 (95% CI, 4.6-6.3) months, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, time from diagnosis to metastatic recurrence (P < 0.0001), presence of symptoms at metastatic relapse (P = 0.01), number of metastatic sites (P = 0.0003) and their localisation (P < 0.0001) were prognostic factors for PFS1. Duration of previous PFS was the only prognostic factor for subsequent PFS (10% threshold). Ten percent of the patients showed long-term response to ET, with a total treatment duration before chemotherapy ≥43.6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Median PFS in our HR+/HER2- real-life cohort is similar to median first-line PFS reported in clinical trials, regardless of ET used as second- and third-line treatment. Despite the international consensus on early initiation of ET, the latter is not prescribed in most of the cases. Patients with a low tumour burden may achieve prolonged response on ET.

Real-life activity of eribulin mesylate among metastatic breast cancer patients in the multicenter national observational ESME program.

Eribulin mesylate (EM) was recently approved for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) chemotherapy (CT) in late lines by the FDA, with debated results in second line. We evaluated outcomes in breast cancer patients receiving EM as second, third and fourth line in a national real-life cohort of 16,703 consecutive MBC patients initiating their first metastatic therapeutic line between 2008 and 2014. Primary and secondary objectives were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). An imbalance was seen for HER2+ tumors and concomitant anti-HER2 targeted therapies use, we thus performed a subanalysis in HER2- patients. PFS and OS were significantly better in EM patients in third and fourth lines, compared to "Other chemotherapies" patients (PFS: 4.14 vs. 3.02 months, p = 0.0010; 3.61 vs. 2.53 months, p = 0.0102, third and fourth-line; OS: 11.27 vs. 7.65 months, p = 0.0001; 10.91 vs. 5.95 months, p < 0.0001, third and fourth-line). No significant difference was reported in second-line (PFS: 5.06 vs. 4.14 months, p = 0.1171; OS: 13.99 vs. 11.66 months, p = 0.151). Among HER2- patients, a significant difference was seen for all lines, including 2nd-line (PFS: 4.57 vs. 3.91 months, p = 0.0379; OS: 14.98 vs. 10.51 months, p = 0.0113). In this large real-world database, HER2-negative MBC patients receiving EM in second or later CT line presented significantly better PFS and OS. This difference disappeared in second line in the overall population, probably because of the imbalance in HER2-targeted treatments use. Our results mirror those of the published randomized trials. The effect of anti-HER2 therapies addition in this setting still needs to be defined.

The ongoing French metastatic breast cancer (MBC) cohort: the example-based methodology of the Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME).

PURPOSE: The currently ongoing Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics (ESME) research programme aims at centralising real-life data on oncology care for epidemiological research purposes. We draw on results from the metastatic breast cancer (MBC) cohort to illustrate the methodology used for data collection in the ESME research programme. PARTICIPANTS: All consecutive ≥18 years patients with MBC treatment initiated between 2008 and 2014 in one of the 18 French Comprehensive Cancer Centres were selected. Diagnostic, therapeutic and follow-up data (demographics, primary tumour, metastatic disease, treatment patterns and vital status) were collected through the course of the disease. Data collection is updated annually. FINDING TO DATE: With a recruitment target of 30 000 patients with MBC by 2019, we currently screened a total of 45 329 patients, and >16 700 patients with a metastatic disease treatment initiated after 2008 have been selected. 20.7% of patients had an hormone receptor (HR)-negative MBC, 73.7% had a HER2-negative MBC and 13.9% were classified as triple-negative BC (ie, HER2 and HR status both negative). Median follow-up duration from MBC diagnosis was 48.55 months for the whole cohort. FUTURE PLANS: These real-world data will help standardise the management of MBC and improve patient care. A dozen of ancillary research projects have been conducted and some of them are already accepted for publication or ready to be issued. The ESME research programme is expanding to ovarian cancer and advanced/metastatic lung cancer. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a continuous link to the data of the cohort to the French national Health Data System for centralising data on healthcare reimbursement (drugs, medical procedures), inpatient/outpatient stays and visits in primary/secondary care settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03275311; Pre-results.

Survival Impact of Locoregional Treatment of the Primary Tumor in De Novo Metastatic Breast Cancers in a Large Multicentric Cohort Study: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Improvement in overall survival (OS) by locoregional treatment (LRT) of the primary tumor in de novo metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of LRT on OS in a large retrospective cohort of de novo MBC patients, with regard to immunohistochemical characteristics and pattern of metastatic dissemination. METHODS: We conducted a multicentric retrospective study of patients diagnosed with de novo MBC selected from the French Epidemiological Strategy and Medical Economics MBC database (NCT03275311) between 2008 and 2014. Overall, 4276 women were included in the study. LRT comprised either radiotherapy, surgery, or both. RESULTS: LRT was used in 40% of patients. Compared with no LRT, patients who received LRT were younger (p < 0.0001) and were more likely to have only one metastatic site (p < 0.0001) or bone-only metastases (p < 0.0001). LRT was associated with a significantly better OS based on landmark multivariate analysis at 1-year (hazard ratio 0.65, 95% confidence interval 0.55-0.76, p < 0.001). Similar results were observed in all sensitivity analyses, including propensity score matching. In subgroup analysis, LRT was associated with better OS in patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative (61.6 vs. 45.9 months, p < 0.001) and HER2-positive tumors (77.2 vs. 52.6 months, p = 0.008), but not in triple-negative tumors (19 vs. 18.6 months, p = 0.54), and was also associated with a reduction in the risk of death in visceral metastatic patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: LRT was associated with a significantly better OS in de novo MBC patients, including patients with visceral involvement at diagnosis; however, LRT did not impact OS in triple-negative MBC.

Time trends of overall survival among metastatic breast cancer patients in the real-life ESME cohort.

AIM: Real-life analysis of overall survival (OS) trends among metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients may help define medical needs and evaluate the impact of public health investments. The present study aimed to evaluate the independent impact of the year of MBC diagnosis on OS in the Epidemio-Strategy-Medical-Economical (ESME)-MBC cohort. METHODS: ESME-MBC (NCT03275311) is a French, national, multicentre, observational cohort including 16,702 consecutive newly diagnosed MBC patients (01 January 2008-31 December 2014). Of 16,680 eligible patients, 15,085 had full immunohistochemistry data, allowing classification as hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-, N = 9907), HER2-positive (HER2+, N = 2861) or triple-negative (HR-/HER2-, N = 2317) subcohorts. Multivariate analyses of OS were conducted among the full ESME cohort and subcohorts. RESULTS: Median OS of the whole cohort was 37.22 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 36.3-38.04). Year of diagnosis was an independent predictor of OS (hazard ratio 0.98 [95% CI, 0.97-1.00], P = .01) together with age, subtype, disease-free interval, visceral metastases and number of organs involved. Median OS of HR+/HER2-, HER2+ and HR-/HER2- subcohorts was, respectively, 42.12 (95% CI, 40.90-43.10), 44.91 (95% CI, 42.51-47.90) and 14.52 (95% CI, 13.70-15.24) months. Year of diagnosis was a strong independent predictor of OS in HER2+ subcohort (hazard ratio 0.91 [95% CI, 0.88-0.94], P < .001), but not in HR+/HER2- nor HR-/HER2- subcohorts (hazard ratio 1.00 [95% CI, 0.98-1.01], P = .80 and 1.00 [95% CI, 0.97-1.02], P = .90, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The OS of MBC patients has slightly improved over the past decade. However, this effect is confined to HER2+ cases, highlighting the need of new strategies in the other subtypes.