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Ribociclib plus Endocrine Therapy in Early Breast Cancer : NATALEE 3y-iDFS: 90.4% vs 87.1% (HR:0.75)
If you can fit a laser pointer between the curves, you can give the #ASCO24 plenary!
🔥 HUGE news in breast oncology. The #NATALEE phase 3 trial of adjuvant ribociclib for stage II-III breast cancer met the primary endpoint of iDFS!
🔥 HUGE news in breast oncology. The #NATALEE phase 3 trial of adjuvant ribociclib for stage II-III breast cancer met the primary endpoint of iDFS!
In patients with stage II or III early breast cancer, the addition of ribociclib to adjuvant hormonal therapy resulted in a significant improvement in 3-year invasive disease–free survival. Read the...
NATALEE: Adj ribociclib for ER+ BC iDFS now with 33 mo of f/u 43% completed 3 yrs of ribo 35.5% with early discontinuation 20.7% still on ribociclib Improvement in iDFS: 90.7vs 87.6% HR 0.749,...
NATALEE phase 3 trial... deserves a sensitivity analyis ! remember the monarchE trial (adjuvant abemaciclib for 2⃣ years) --> now we have NATALEE with adjuvant ribociclib for 3⃣ years...
The NATALEE phase 3 trial of adjuvant ribo for stage II-III HR+ BC is published in @NEJM. With 28 months f-up, adding ribo for 3y to adjuvant AI led to a significant benefit in 3y iDFS...
Important data from monarchE and NATALEE adjuvant CDK46 inhibitor @myESMO With @tess_omeara, here's our take on who needs, and who does not need, adjuvant...
@Novartis @NovartisCancer, I'm asking for a clarification regarding the NATALEE subgroup N0 results presented at #ESMO24 ➡️I found a...
NATALEE is a global Phase III, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial that established adjuvant ribociclib (Kisqali) at 400 mg as the first CDK4/6 inhibitor approved for the broadest population of patients with HR+/HER2-negative stage II and III early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence. The trial randomized 5,101 patients across 20 countries to receive ribociclib plus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (letrozole or anastrozole) for 3 years with endocrine therapy for at least 5 years, or endocrine therapy alone. NATALEE uniquely included node-negative patients and used a lower 400 mg dose (versus the 600 mg metastatic dose) to optimize tolerability over the 3-year treatment duration.
Phase III, global, multicenter, randomized (1:1), open-label trial conducted at 393 centers across 20 countries in collaboration with TRIO. Stratified by menopausal status, AJCC 8th edition anatomic stage (II vs. III), prior neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy (yes vs. no), and geographic region.
Adults (men and pre- or postmenopausal women) with HR+/HER2-negative stage II or III early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence. Stage IIA T2N0 patients required grade 2 tumor with Ki-67 >=20% or high genomic risk (Oncotype DX Recurrence Score >=26, or high-risk by Prosigna/PAM50, MammaPrint, or EndoPredict), or grade 3 tumor. Node-positive disease of any stage II/III was eligible regardless of additional risk factors. Stage II comprised 40.3% and stage III comprised 59.4% of the study population.
Ribociclib 400 mg once daily (3 weeks on / 1 week off in 28-day cycles) for up to 36 months plus NSAI (letrozole or anastrozole) for at least 5 years, with goserelin for men and premenopausal women. Control arm received NSAI alone for at least 5 years.
Primary endpoint: invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) per STEEP criteria. Secondary endpoints: recurrence-free survival (RFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), overall survival (OS), patient-reported outcomes (PROs), safety/tolerability, and pharmacokinetics. Exploratory endpoints included locoregional recurrence-free survival and time to subsequent antineoplastic therapy.
At the final iDFS analysis (median follow-up 33.3 months), ribociclib plus ET demonstrated a significant iDFS benefit with HR 0.749 (95% CI: 0.628-0.892; p=0.0006). The 3-year iDFS rates were 90.7% versus 87.6%, a 3.1% absolute benefit. At the 4-year landmark analysis (44.2 months median follow-up), the benefit was sustained with HR 0.715 (95% CI: 0.609-0.840; p<0.0001). At the 5-year analysis (58.4 months median follow-up), HR was 0.716 (95% CI: 0.618-0.829; nominal p<0.0001), with 5-year iDFS rates of 85.5% versus 81.0%, representing a 4.5% absolute improvement and a 28.4% reduction in risk of recurrence sustained approximately 2 years after completing ribociclib treatment.
Overall survival data remain immature. At the final iDFS analysis, there were 84 deaths (3%) on the ribociclib arm and 88 deaths (3%) on the ET-alone arm, with an OS HR of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.66-1.20). At the 5-year analysis, the OS trend favored ribociclib with HR 0.800 (95% CI: 0.637-1.003; nominal 1-sided p=0.026), but the trial was not powered for OS.
The 400 mg dose showed a predictable and manageable safety profile. Grade 3+ neutropenia occurred in 44.3% but rarely led to clinical complications (febrile neutropenia 0.3%, no neutropenia deaths). Hepatotoxicity occurred in 26.4% (grade 3+: 8.6%), with DILI in 0.4% including 8 Hy's Law cases, all resolving after discontinuation. QTc prolongation was infrequent at 5.3% all-grade (grade 3+: 1.0%), with no Torsades de Pointes. Treatment discontinuation due to AEs was 19.5%, primarily from elevated transaminases (ALT 7.1%) occurring early (median ~4 months). Dose interruptions occurred in 86.1% and dose reductions in 26.7%, primarily for neutropenia. Median relative dose intensity was 94.0%.
NATALEE established adjuvant ribociclib as the standard of care for the broadest population of HR+/HER2- early breast cancer patients at risk of recurrence, including those with node-negative disease. The 5-year data showing sustained benefit approximately 2 years after completing 3 years of treatment supports a durable biological effect. Key clinical debates include the optimal selection between ribociclib (NATALEE) and abemaciclib (monarchE) given their different patient populations and dosing strategies, the 3-year treatment duration versus the 2-year duration used with abemaciclib, and whether the lower 400 mg dose adequately balances efficacy and tolerability for long-term adjuvant use.