Real-world clinical profile, treatment patterns and patient-reported outcomes in a subset of HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients with poor prognostic factors: data from an international study

BACKGROUND: Patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2−) advanced breast cancer (ABC) and disease-related poor prognostic factors are not well characterized. We aimed to describe patient demographics, disease characteristics, treatment patterns and patient-reported outcomes in a subset of HR+/HER2− ABC patients with these factors [at the time when cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 and 6 inhibitors were being introduced] and understand how these factors informed treatment decisions at the time of the survey. METHODS: Real-world data were derived from a large, multinational, point-in-time survey of oncologists and their consulting patients with HR+/HER2− ABC in the EU5 and USA over March-June 2017, at the start of the changing treatment landscape. Analysis focused on four poor prognostic factors: visceral metastases, liver metastases (subset of visceral metastases), progesterone receptor-negative status and high tumor grade. RESULTS: In total, 2259 patients with HR+/HER2− ABC had records eligible for this analysis. At least one poor prognostic factor was present in 63% of patients (most common visceral metastases; least common progesterone receptor-negative status), with varying degrees of overlap between factors. For physician-reported outcomes, pain increased, whereas performance status and activities of daily living declined with presence of poor prognostic factors, especially liver metastases. No clear trends were observed for patient-reported outcomes. Treatment with combined endocrine therapy plus CDK4 and 6 inhibitors was infrequent, as these agents were entering the market. CONCLUSIONS: More than 60% of the HR+/HER2− ABC Adelphi Real World Disease Specific Programme™ sample had ≥1 disease-related poor prognostic factor, and patients appeared to be heterogeneous regarding occurrence and distribution of these factors. These patients typically have increased pain and reduced performance status, highlighting the importance of implementing effective therapy with CDK4 and 6 inhibitors. Future studies could inform how the treatment landscape has evolved over time with respect to patients with poor prognostic factors.