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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Jun 8;24(1):708.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-024-12478-1.

Relative efficacy of antibody-drug conjugates and other anti-HER2 treatments on survival in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Zian Kang  1 , Yuqing Jin  2 , Huihui Yu  3 , Su Li  1 , Yingjie Qi  4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Relative efficacy of antibody-drug conjugates and other anti-HER2 treatments on survival in HER2-positive advanced breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Zian Kang et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) drugs present a promising anti-cancer treatment, although survival benefits for HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (BC) remain controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the comparative effect of ADCs and other anti-HER2 therapy on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for treatment of HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic BC.

Methods: Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were retrieved from five databases. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for RCTs by RevMan5.4 software. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted to evaluate the benefit of ADCs on PFS and OS in HER2-positive advanced BC by meta-analysis.

Results: Meta-analysis of six RCTs with 3870 patients revealed that ADCs significantly improved PFS (HR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.49-0.80, P = 0.0002) and OS (HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.72-0.86, P < 0.0001) of patients with HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic BC. Subgroup analysis showed that PFS and OS were obviously prolonged for patients who previously received HER2-targeted therapy. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias suggested that the results were stable and reliable.

Conclusion: Statistically significant benefits for PFS and OS were observed with ADCs in HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic BC, especially for those who received prior anti-HER2 treatment.

Keywords: Antibody-drug conjugates; Breast cancer; Meta-analysis; Overall survival; Progression-free survival.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the literature search and study selection
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Quality assessment for risk of bias for the included randomized controlled trials
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plots of HR for PFS (A) and HR for OS (B) in patients with ADCs versus other HER2-targeted regimens
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Subgroup analysis for PFS by prior anti-HER2 treatment categories in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (A). Subgroup analysis for PFS by treatment line in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (B). Subgroup analysis for OS by treatment line in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (C)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Sensitivity analysis for PFS (A) and for OS (B). Egger’s test of publication bias for PFS (C) and for OS (D)
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