Media release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

Use and results of systemic treatments for de novo and recurrent metastatic breast cancer: a population-based cohort study

Summary

Although Māori patients had good access to systemic treatment for metastatic breast cancer, Pacific women with metastatic breast cancer were less likely to receive chemotherapy and trastuzumab (herceptin) than non-Pacific women. Endocrine therapy, chemotherapy and trastuzumab all improved survival in patients with the specific biomarkers that are used to target therapy.

Key Points

• Women with metastatic breast cancer can receive a combination of different treatments including hormone treatment, chemotherapy and, for women who are HER2+, trastuzumab.

• Pacific women with metastatic breast cancer were less likely to receive chemotherapy and trastuzumab but just as likely to receive endocrine treatment as non-Pacific women.

• Chemotherapy was only associated with improved survival in women with HER2+ non-luminal and triple negative MBC.

• Endocrine therapy improved survival in those women whose tumour was hormone sensitive (ie, luminal A and luminal B HER2+ disease).

• Trastuzumab was associated with improved survival in those women who were HER2+ (ie, luminal B HER2+ and HER2+ non-luminal disease).