Clinical usefulness of eribulin as first- or second-line chemotherapy for recurrent HER2-negative breast cancer: a randomized phase II study (JBCRG-19)

Effectiveness, safety, and impact on quality of life of eribulin-based therapy in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer: A real-world analysis

INTRODUCTION

Eribulin is currently recommended for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) pre-treated with taxanes and anthracyclines. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of eribulin and its impact on health-related quality of life in heavily pre-treated patients with MBC.

METHODS

Data from MBC patients who had received eribulin-based therapy at Beijing Cancer Hospital between January 2020 and July 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), adverse effects (AEs) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed.

RESULTS

Data from 118 patients who had received eribulin to treat MBC were included. Median PFS was 4.2 months and median OS had not been reached. The ORR was 13.6% (16/118) and DCR was 75.4% (89/118). The median PFS in patients who received eribulin in second-line (26/118), third-line (29/118), or fourth-line or later (63/118) was 4.5, 4.2, and 3.9 months, respectively. The median OS in patients who received eribulin in third- or later line (n = 92) was 14.1 months. Patients who received eribulin combination therapy had a significantly longer median PFS compared with those who received eribulin monotherapy (4.5 vs. 3.4 months, p = 0.007) and there was a trend towards a longer median OS (not reached vs. 12.1 months). The most common grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia (22.9%), leukocytopenia (13.6%) and asthenia/fatigue (8.5%), without significant differences in safety between eribulin monotherapy and combination therapy. Quality of life was similar in patients who received eribulin monotherapy and combination therapy, except for cognitive function and nausea and vomiting symptoms, which were better with combination therapy.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that eribulin-based therapy is an effective treatment option and well tolerated for heavily pre-treated patients with MBC. Eribulin combination therapy might improve PFS and HRQoL compared with eribulin monotherapy.

Investigating the Role of CTCs with Stem/EMT-like Features in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Eribulin Mesylate

Simple Summary

Eribulin mesylate, an anti-mitotic drug used for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (BC), exhibits significant effects on cancer cell migration, invasion, and metastatic seeding in experimental models. Interestingly, eribulin treatment has been shown to target the cancer stem cell (CSC) subsets in vitro and reverse the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) state of BC cells. In the current study, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) identified in the peripheral blood of patients with metastatic BC were analyzed at different time points during eribulin treatment and on disease progression. The results contribute new data on the mechanisms of resistance to eribulin mesylate and the prognostic relevance of CTC analyses for eribulin-treated metastatic BC.

Abstract

We herein aimed to assess the effect of eribulin mesylate on the cancer stem cell (CSC)/EMT-like phenotype of CTCs, and to investigate the prognostic role of CTC detection and monitoring for eribulin-treated BC patients. Peripheral blood was obtained at baseline (n = 42 patients) and 8 days after treatment initiation (C1D8: n = 22), and on disease progression (PD: n = 26). PBMCs cytospins were immunofluorescently stained for Cytokeratins/ALDH1/TWIST1/DAPI and analyzed via Ariol microscopy. CTCs were detected in 33.3%, 27.3%, and 23.1% of patients at baseline, C1D8, and PD, respectively. Accordingly, partial-EMT+ CTCs represented 61.3%, 0%, and 37.5% of total CTCs, whereas the CSC-like phenotype was consistently expressed by 87.5%, 75%, and 91.7% of CTCs at the respective time points. Interestingly, the CSC+/partial-EMT+ subset prevailed at baseline, but it was eradicated on C1D8 and resurged again during PD. CTC detection at baseline was associated with reduced PFS (p = 0.007) and OS (p = 0.005), and was an independent risk factor for death (HR: 3.779, p = 0.001; multivariate analysis). The CSC+/partial-EMT+ CTCs emerged as the only subset with adverse prognostic significance, while CTC monitoring during eribulin therapy improved the prediction of disease progression. These results indicate that resistant CTC subsets persevere eribulin treatment and highlight the prognostic implications of CTC analyses for eribulin-treated BC patients.