Phase II Parallel Group Study Showing Comparable Efficacy Between Premenopausal Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Letrozole Plus Goserelin and Postmenopausal Patients Treated With Letrozole Alone As First-Line Hormone Therapy

Abstract

Purpose Goserelin and letrozole in premenopausal patients can result in clinical outcomes comparable to those obtained by letrozole alone in postmenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Patients and Methods A total of 73 patients with hormone-responsive MBC were included. Of those, 35 premenopausal patients received goserelin (3.6 mg subcutaneously every 28 days) plus letrozole (2.5 mg orally daily), and 38 postmenopausal patients received letrozole alone as their first-line endocrine therapy in a metastatic setting. Results Baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups, except for a younger age (median, 41 v 53.5 years; P < .001) and a shorter disease-free interval (median, 1.8 v 3.3 years; P = .03) in the premenopausal group. Clinical benefit rates were comparable between the two groups (77% v 74%; P = .77). With the median follow-up of 27.4 months, there was no statistical difference in the median time to progression between the two groups (9.5 months [95% CI, 6.4 to 12.1 months] v 8.9 months [95% CI, 6.4 to 13.3 months]). In patients who did not receive bisphosphonate, letrozole ± goserelin caused a greater loss of bone mineral density at 6 months compared with that of patients receiving bisphosphonate treatment (premenopausal group, −16.7% v 53.9%; P = .002 and postmenopausal group, −13.3% v 17.4%; P = .04 at the lumbar spine). Conclusion Clinical efficacies in premenopausal MBC patients with combined letrozole and goserelin therapy were comparable to those in postmenopausal patients treated with letrozole alone. Although letrozole ± goserelin resulted in a modest increase in bone resorption, concurrent treatment with bisphosphonate could prevent bone loss at 6 months.