Final results of a phase II study of nab-paclitaxel, bevacizumab, and gemcitabine as first-line therapy for patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer

In order to examine the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-P) in combination with bevacizumab (B) and gemcitabine (G) for the first-line treatment of patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). In this single-center, open-label phase II trial, patients with HER2-negative MBC received gemcitabine 1500 mg/m², nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m², and bevacizumab 10 mg/kg (each administered intravenously) on days 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. The primary end point was progression free survival (PFS); secondary end points were overall response rate (ORR), complete (CR) and partial (PR) response rates, clinical benefit (ORR + stable disease), overall survival (OS), and safety. Thirty patients were enrolled. One patient was ineligible and was not included in analysis. Median PFS was 10.4 months (95% CI: 5.6–15.2 months). ORR was 75.9%, comprising eight (27.6%) CRs and 14 (48.3%) PRs; five patients had stable disease (SD) and two patients (6.9%) had progressive disease (PD) as their best response. The clinical benefit rate was 93.1% (27/29) in the overall group and 84.6% in the triple-negative cohort (11/13). The 18-month survival rate was 77.2% (95% CI: 51.1–90.5%). Eight (27.6%) patients experienced grade 3 or 4 toxicity: grade 4 neutropenic fever (n = 1) and grade 3 infection (n = 6), leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, peripheral neuropathy, seizure, shortness of breath, hematuria, and cardiac tamponade (one each). First-line therapy with nab-P, B, and G demonstrated a median PFS of 10.4 months and a 75.9% ORR with acceptable toxicity; this novel combination warrants investigation in a randomized study.