Dr. Yardley on Endocrine Therapy Plus CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Breast Cancer With Visceral Metastases

Denise Yardley, MD, senior investigator, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the role of endocrine therapy in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and visceral metastases.

The utility of endocrine-based therapy has been an area of uncertainty in patients with breast cancer–related visceral metastases, Yardley says.

However, during the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program, updated overall survival (OS) data from the MONALEESA-3 and MONALEESA-7 trials revealed that the addition of ribociclib (Kisqali) to endocrine therapy induced similar OS benefit in patients with visceral metastases compared with the intent-to-treat population, Yardley explains.

Moreover, patients with liver metastases also derived progression-free survival and OS benefit from the combination versus placebo, says Yardley.

As such, these findings suggest that patients with advanced breast cancer and visceral metastases should be considered for endocrine therapy plus CDK4/6 inhibitors as they could have similar outcomes compared with patients who present with soft tissue or bone metastases, concludes Yardley.