Key clinical point: The detrimental effects of chemotherapy on quality of life (QoL) are significant at 12 months in older patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer treated with either chemotherapy plus trastuzumab vs. trastuzumab monotherapy. There was no difference in QoL after 36 months between treatments.
Major finding: At 12 months, the proportion of patients showing QoL deterioration was significantly lower in the trastuzumab monotherapy vs. trastuzumab plus chemotherapy group (19% vs. 38%; P = .009). A significantly higher number of patients showed improvement in QoL with trastuzumab monotherapy at 12 months (43% vs. 25%; P = .021). No difference was reported in any QoL items at 36 months between the 2 treatment groups.
Study details: The QoL analysis of phase 3, randomized RESPECT trial included 231 older patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who received either trastuzumab monotherapy (mean age, 73.9 years) or trastuzumab plus chemotherapy (mean age, 73.7 years).
Disclosures: The analysis was supported by the Comprehensive Support Project for Oncology Research of the Public Health Research Foundation, Japan. The authors received consulting fees, honoraria, and research funding outside this work.
Source: Taira N et al. J Clin Oncol. 2021 Apr 9. doi: 10.1200/JCO.20.02751.