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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd 2023; 83(09): 1127-1137
DOI: 10.1055/a-2100-0643
GebFra Science
Original Article

The Endocrine Treatment Landscape for Patients with HR+ HER2− Early-stage Breast Cancer in Germany Before the Introduction of CDK4/6 Inhibitor Therapy – A Real-World Analysis

Article in several languages: English | deutsch
Naiba Nabieva
1   Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nürnberg, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN60852)
,
Falk Altmann
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Klaus Apel
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Dirk-Toralf Baerens
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Michaela Beha
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Antje Belau
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Steffi Busch
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Dagmar Guth
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Georg Heinrich
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Janine Kreiss-Sender
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Susanne Markmann
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Andreas Olbermann
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Gülten Oskay-Özcelik
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Beatrix Schuback
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Dieter Steinfeld-Birg
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Claudia Quiering
1   Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nürnberg, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN60852)
,
Ferenc Kiss
1   Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nürnberg, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN60852)
,
Julia Kreuzeder
1   Novartis Pharma GmbH, Nürnberg, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN60852)
,
Paolo Nuti
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
3   HERACLIN Institut für Datenmanagement im Gesundheitswesen GmbH, Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
,
Jörg Schilling
2   Berufsverband Niedergelassener und ambulant tätiger Gynäkologischer Onkologen in Deutschland e.V., Neuenhagen bei Berlin, Germany
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Abstract

Introduction

While premenopausal patients with HR+ HER2− early breast cancer are treated with tamoxifen +/− ovarian suppression with a GnRH analog or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) + GnRH, the majority of postmenopausal women receive an AI due to its higher efficacy compared to tamoxifen. As the introduction of CDK4/6 inhibitors into the treatment of early-stage breast cancer with a higher risk of recurrence will probably result in a shift in the endocrine treatment landscape, the question is what treatment did potential candidates for CDK4/6 inhibitors in Germany receive before CDK4/6 inhibitors were available.

Patients and Methods

As part of a retrospective multicenter analysis, anonymized data were collected of patients with HR+ HER2− early-stage breast cancer who received endocrine therapy in the period between 10/2021 and 03/2022. Potential candidates for CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment were classified into different risk cohorts using the inclusion criteria of the NATALEE and monarchE trials.

Results

The data of 238 patients from 29 different centers were analyzed. While 20.6% of patients met the monarchE criteria, the subgroup which met the NATALEE inclusion criteria consisted of 46.2% of patients. 53.8% of patients did not meet the inclusion criteria for either the NATALEE or the monarchE trial. More than half of the patients did not receive chemotherapy. 28.6% of patients in the whole cohort were premenopausal. 67.6% of premenopausal women received neo-/adjuvant chemotherapy. 61.8% of premenopausal patients received tamoxifen as adjuvant endocrine therapy, 19.1% received an AI + GnRH and 10.3% were treated with tamoxifen + GnRH.

Conclusion

Despite the high percentage of premenopausal patients who received aggressive treatment in the form of chemotherapy, only one third of premenopausal patients received GnRH in addition to their standard endocrine therapy. Studies carried out at a later point in time and registry studies will be necessary to see how the endocrine therapy landscape in Germany has changed following the introduction of CDK4/6 inhibitors.

Keywords

breast cancer - endocrine treatment - OFS - tamoxifen - aromatase inhibitor


Publication History

Received: 28 April 2023

Accepted after revision: 24 May 2023

Article published online:
18 July 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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