Comparative efficacy between real-world and randomized studies of palbociclib+endocrine therapy in HR-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) combined with endocrine therapy are the standard-of-care for hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/HER2-negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Palbociclib, the first approved CDK4/6i, significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, real-world (RW) outcomes may differ due to broader patient populations. This meta-analysis evaluates the applicability of pivotal RCT findings to RW settings.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of RW studies on HR+/HER2- MBC treated with palbociclib+aromatase inhibitors (AI) or fulvestrant, reporting median PFS (mPFS) and/or overall survival (mOS). Pooled mPFS/OS was estimated using the median of medians (MM) and weighted MM (WM). RW estimates were deemed comparable to RCTs if MMPFS/OS or WMPFS/OS fell within RCTs' 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Similar criteria applied to pooled hazard ratios (HRs) of PFS/OS for palbociclib+AI vs AI in visceral/nonvisceral subgroups.

RESULTS

Twelve RW studies were analyzed. First-line palbociclib+AI MMPFS (22.5 months, 95% CI = 19.5 to 31.8) aligned with PALOMA-1/2 pooled mPFS (23.9, 95% CI = 20.2 to 27.6). First-line palbociclib+fulvestrant MMPFS (13.5, 95% CI = 11.6 to 28.5) exceeded PALOMA-3 (11.2, 95% CI = 9.5 to 12.9). Second-line palbociclib+fulvestrant MMPFS (11.5 months, 95% CI = 6.3 to 15.3) was consistent with PALOMA-3. RW first-line mOS (51.2 months, 95% CI = 49.1 to 53.3) surpassed PALOMA-1/2 pooled mOS (45.7, 95% CI = 37.5 to 53.8). WMOS (49.1 months, 95% CI = 49.1 to 53.3) was slightly lower than RCTs (53.7, 95% CI = 37.5 to 53.8). Palbociclib+AI outperformed AI in RW visceral disease, aligning with RCTs, and showed heterogeneous but favorable benefit in nonvisceral disease.

CONCLUSIONS

RW data confirm palbociclib+endocrine therapy effectiveness, reinforcing its applicability to broader patient populations.