T-DM1 after Pertuzumab plus Trastuzumab: Treatment Sequence-Induced Selection Bias in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

Abstract

Real-world studies have suggested decreased trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) effectiveness in patients with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) who received prior trastuzumab plus pertuzumab (H + P). However, these studies may have been biased toward pertuzumab-experienced patients with more aggressive disease. Using an electronic health record-derived database, patients diagnosed with mBC on/after 1 January 2011 who initiated T-DM1 in any treatment line (primary cohort) or who initiated second-line T-DM1 following first-line H ± P (secondary cohort) from 22 February 2013 to 31 December 2019 were included. The primary outcome was time from index date to next treatment or death (TTNT). In the primary cohort (n = 757), the percentage of patients with prior P increased from 37% to 73% across the study period, while population characteristics and treatment effectiveness measures were generally stable. Among P-experienced patients from the secondary cohort (n = 246), median time from mBC diagnosis to T-DM1 initiation increased from 10 to 14 months (2013–2019), and median TTNT increased from 4.4 to 10.2 months (2013–2018). Over time, prior H + P prevalence significantly increased with no observable impact on T-DM1 effectiveness. Drug approval timing should be considered when assessing treatment effectiveness within a sequence.

Keywords

• trastuzumab emtansine
• HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
• selection bias
• real-world data
• trastuzumab
• pertuzumab