Dr. Piccart on a 4-Year Follow-Up of the NeoALTTO Trial

Martine Piccart, MD, PhD, director of medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, Belgium, gives an update on a four-year follow-up analysis of the NeoALTTO trial.

In the NeoALTTO trial, patients with HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned to preoperative therapy with paclitaxel and lapatinib, paclitaxel and trastuzumab, or paclitaxel plus both anti-HER2 drugs. The overall goal of the trial was to determine whether pathologic complete response (pCR) rate achieved with lapatinib plus trastuzumab translated into better overall survival or event-free survival.

Overall, the primary endpoint of the trial was met, establishing a significant connection between pCR and survival. Patients who achieved a pCR were 62% less likely to experience a cancer-related event, Piccart states. Moreover, pCR was associated with a 67% reduction in the risk of death. Taken together, these findings confirm that pCR is an acceptable surrogate endpoint, Piccart believes.