In:
Journal of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Vol. 31, No. 15_suppl ( 2013-05-20), p. 1080-1080
Abstract:
1080 Background: For decades, anthracyclines have been among the most useful treatments for women with MBC. Though recent publications have confirmed an overall decline in the use of anthracyclines in BC, most of that decline was felt to be due to its diminished utilization in the adjuvant management of BC. Current community anthracycline usage pattern in MBC is not known. We investigate and report, herein, how community oncologists in the southeast USA are currently utilizing anthracyclines for MBC. Methods: All chemotherapy treatment requests for HER2+ and HER2- Stage 4 BC were examined, from 2009 through 2012. Chi-Square test was performed for interaction between age and anthracycline utilization, with p-value less than 0.05 considered significant. The proportion of women who had been treated previously in the adjuvant setting with low cumulative doses of anthracyclines, which would have some effect upon subsequent use, was not retrievable. Results: During this span, 420 unique chemotherapy requests were initiated for 247 patients. These included 54 anthracycline requests for 50 MBC patients. The use of anthracyclines for metastatic HER2+ BC was virtually absent (one in 63 requests among 42 patients). The remaining 357 chemotherapy requests were for treatment of 205 HER2- MBC patients. Anthracyclines were employed in 22% of women under 65 years of age and in 25% of those older than 65 (p = 0.77). Approximately 83% (45/54) of anthracycline-requests were for conventional doxorubicin, either alone or in combination with other agents. The rest were for liposomal doxorubicin (6/54) or epirubicin (3/54). Conclusions: Data from the southeast USA identifies that anthracyclines are virtually never used in HER2+ MBC. Even in HER2- MBC, anthracyclines are used in only one out of 4 patients suffering from this disease. The effect of this unheralded alteration in oncology practice must be carefully considered when trends in metastatic breast cancer control are examined. [Table: see text]
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0732-183X
,
1527-7755
DOI:
10.1200/jco.2013.31.15_suppl.1080
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
Publication Date:
2013
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2005181-5
