Impact of early dose intensity reduction of Palbociclib on clinical outcomes in patients with hormone-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer

Background Palbociclib is commonly added to an aromatase inhibitor (AI) as first-line therapy in ER + HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MBC). There are no data on the effect of the relative dose intensity (RDI) of palbociclib in first-line setting on clinical outcomes. The objective of this study is to explore the association of RDI and dose reduction of palbociclib in the first-line setting with PFS. Methods This is a retrospective study of ER + HER2- MBC patients who received palbociclib plus AI in first-line setting. Subjects >= 18 years old with MBC, who were started on palbociclib 125 mg daily, had completed >= 1 cycle of palbociclib, and did not progress within the first 12 weeks were eligible. Analyses were performed at 12- and 36-week landmarks (LM). RDI was defined as the total amount of palbociclib taken per the total amount planned. RDI-high-12 and RDI-low-12 cohorts were defined as patients receiving palbociclib with RDI >= 80% and RDI < 80% during the first 12 weeks, respectively. Reduction-12 and No-reduction-12 cohorts were defined as patients who had any dose reduction and patients who had no reduction during the first 12 weeks, respectively. Results 56 patients were eligible. Kaplan-Meier analysis from 12-week LM showed a median PFS of 17.1 months in RDI-high-12 versus 6.8 months in RDI-low-12 cohort (p = 0.0006). There was a 7.0-month improvement in median PFS in No-reduction-12 versus Reduction-12 cohort (p = 0.0638). Median PFS at 36-week LM was not reached in RDI-high-36 versus 8.6 months in RDI-low-36 cohort (p = 0.0703). Conclusions RDI < 80% of palbociclib during the first 12 weeks, when used in combination with an AI in first-line setting in ER + HER2- MBC, is associated with significantly shorter PFS compared to RDI >= 80%. There is a trend towards shorter PFS among patients with RDI < 80% versus RDI >= 80% at 36 weeks. A larger study is needed to validate these findings.