A systematic review and meta-analysis of the combination of vinorelbine and lapatinib in patients with her2-positive metastatic breast cancer

Abstract

The development of effective human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapies has been heralded as a significant milestone in breast cancer treatment, resulting in improvement of the outcome for those with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Despite these advantages, metastatic breast cancer is still regarded as an incurable disease. In heavily pretreated patients with increasingly limited options for palliative management, ensuring control of disease and maintenance of quality of life is an important goal. Vinorelbine and lapatinib is a combination used in later-line treatment of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. The current article presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective series of the vinorelbine/lapatinib doublet for efficacy and toxicity in metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. Altogether seven prospective trials involving 235 evaluable patients were retrieved for analysis. Pooled estimates of response rate and disease control rate were 24.4% and 63.3% respectively. Furthermore, overall survival was 20.1 months and progression-free survival was 5.44 months. The most common grade 3 and 4 toxicities were seen in fewer than 10% of cases. Vinorelbine/ lapatinib combination regimen may serve as an option for pre-treated patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.