Kaitlyn D’Onofrio

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Breast cancer patients who are not responding to endocrine therapy may benefit from combination&nbsp;palbociclib&nbsp;and&nbsp;pulvestrant&nbsp;therapy, new research suggests.&nbsp;Patients with hormone-receptor&ndash;positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)&ndash;negative advanced breast cancer&nbsp;(n = 521)&nbsp;were randomly assigned to receive&nbsp;palbociclib&nbsp;plus&nbsp;fulvestrant&nbsp;or placebo plus&nbsp;fulvestrant.&nbsp;&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Interesting / a little surprising to see negative overall survival results in PALOMA-3 (palbo/fulvestrant in MBC) for the complete trial population &ndash; had to splice out smaller groups for positive results. <a href="https://twitter.com/NEJM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NEJM</a> <a href="https://t.co/YibBhw2IKP">https://t.co/YibBhw2IKP</a>
&mdash; Ryan Huey, MD, MS (@ryanhuey) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanhuey/status/1054188609312645120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>In the&nbsp;palbociclib&nbsp;plus&nbsp;fulvestrant&nbsp;group, median overall survival was 34.9 months&nbsp;(95% confidence interval [CI], 28.8 to 40.0), compared with 28.0 months&nbsp;(95% CI, 23.6 to 34.6)&nbsp;in the placebo plus&nbsp;fulvestrant&nbsp;group&nbsp;(hazard ratio&nbsp;[HR]&nbsp;for death, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.64 to 1.03;&nbsp;P&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.09; absolute difference, 6.9 months).&nbsp;Patients with&nbsp;endocrine therapy&nbsp;sensitivity&nbsp;(n = 410) receiving&nbsp;palbociclib&nbsp;had a mean overall survival of&nbsp;39.7 months (95% CI, 34.8 to 45.7), compared with&nbsp;29.7 months (95% CI, 23.8 to 37.9) in&nbsp;placebo patients with endocrine therapy sensitivity&nbsp;(HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.94; absolute difference, 10.0 months).&nbsp;Palbociclib&nbsp;patients&rsquo; median time to the receipt of chemotherapy was 17.6 months, compared with 8.8 months in the placebo cohort (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.73;&nbsp;P&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;0.001).&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PALOMA-3 demonstrated an approximately 7-month clinical meaningful improvement in OS for patients who received palbociclib. Also, use of CDK4/6 inhibitor was associated with delayed time to chemotherapy. #ESMO18#MOCnaESMO@MOCBrasil <a href="https://t.co/OxFb4uN49D">pic.twitter.com/OxFb4uN49D</a>
&mdash; Debora Gagliato (@DGagliato) <a href="https://twitter.com/DGagliato/status/1053694499707387905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>&ldquo;The results of the study show that it is possible to improve and prolong the life of patients with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer. We now have solid data to suggest that this treatment should be the new standard of care,&rdquo; said&nbsp;study&nbsp;author Dr. Massimo&nbsp;Cristofanilli.&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
On Saturday we published news of a major clinical trial which showed that the targeted drug <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/palbociclib?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#palbociclib</a> extends <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BreastCancer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BreastCancer</a> survival.
Watch study lead, Professor Nick Turner, discuss the findings from this trial in this video: <a href="https://t.co/bUI739VVLI">https://t.co/bUI739VVLI</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ESMO18?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ESMO18</a>
&mdash; The ICR (@ICR_London) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICR_London/status/1054685113890598912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Study author Nicholas Turner, a molecular oncology professor at&nbsp;The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and&nbsp;consultant medical&nbsp;oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust,&nbsp;called the treatment&rsquo;s development &ldquo;one of the biggest advances in treatment for women with advanced breast cancer in the last two decades.&rdquo;&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Original Article: Overall Survival with Palbociclib and Fulvestrant in Advanced <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BreastCancer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BreastCancer</a> (PALOMA-3) <a href="https://t.co/PoifcpQnQc">https://t.co/PoifcpQnQc</a>
Visit the <a href="https://twitter.com/NEJMGroup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NEJMGroup</a> booth (Hall B1, booth P-109) for a copy of this study and other papers released at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ESMO18?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ESMO18</a>.
&mdash; NEJM (@NEJM) <a href="https://twitter.com/NEJM/status/1053657087593639936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredibly rewarding that the benefits we had previously seen for&nbsp;palbociclib&nbsp;are now translating into such significant extensions in survival,&rdquo; said Turner. &ldquo;This drug can offer women more precious time with their loved ones and because it is a targeted treatment it is much kinder than&nbsp;chemotherapy, and&nbsp;enables many women to carry on with their lives normally.&rdquo;&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Overall Survival with Palbociclib and Fulvestrant in Advanced Breast Cancer | NEJM <a href="https://t.co/GYwvEcjXdo">https://t.co/GYwvEcjXdo</a> Thought that the attached figure, although exploratory, was notable <a href="https://t.co/9wDnoY7q4M">pic.twitter.com/9wDnoY7q4M</a>
&mdash; Robert S Miller, MD, FACP, FASCO, FAMIA-he/him (@rsm2800) <a href="https://twitter.com/rsm2800/status/1054061874243870722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Dr.&nbsp;Cristofanilli,&nbsp;a&nbsp;hematology/oncology&nbsp;professor&nbsp;at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician, said,&nbsp;&ldquo;Typically, treatments for estrogen-positive metastatic breast cancer delay the progression of cancer but almost never prolong the life of patients. This treatment is the first of its kind to show such an important benefit.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/nursing-home-breast-cancer/">Mortality Is High in Nursing Home Patients Who Undergo Surgery for Breast Cancer</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/home-page-picks/study-mutant-genes-severe-breast-cancer/">Study Finds Mutant Genes Linked to Severe Breast Cancer</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/talazoparib-negative-breast-cancer/">FDA Approves Drug to Treat HER2-negative Breast Cancer with Germline BRCA Mutations</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/radiology/pre-treatment-functional-mri-of-breast-cancer-t2-evaluation-at-3%e2%80%aft-and-relationship-to-dynamic-contrast-enhanced-and-diffusion-weighted-imaging/">Pre-treatment functional MRI of breast cancer: T2* evaluation at 3&#8239;T and relationship to dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted imaging</a>&nbsp;Sources:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1810527">NEJM</a>, <a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-major-trial-drug-breast-cancer.html">Medical Xpress</a>, <a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2018/10/drug-improves-survival-in-metastatic-breast-cancer/">Northwestern Medicine</a>

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Breast cancer patients who are not responding to endocrine therapy may benefit from combination palbociclib and pulvestrant therapy, new research suggests.  ...