De novo HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: time trends in real-world treatment patterns and survival in The Netherlands

Analysis of the SONABRE registy in The Netherlands investigated time trends in real-world treatment patterns and survival among patients with a diagnosis HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC). The analysis included 81 patients with a diagnosis between 2008 and 2012, and 85 patients with a diagnosis between 2013 and 2017. Both progression-free survival and overall survival were significantly better in the later period compared with the earlier period. Of the patients in the later versus the earlier period, 84% versus 60% received first-line HER2-targeted therapy while 59% versus 0% received first-line pertuzumab-based therapy (introduced in 2013). The authors conclude that the prognosis of de novo HER2-positive mBC patients has improved considerably since 2013.