RT Journal Article T1 Palbociclib in combination with endocrine therapy versus capecitabine in hormonal receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2-negative, aromatase inhibitor-resistant metastatic breast cancer: a phase III randomised controlled trial-PEARL. A1 Martin, M A1 Zielinski, C A1 Ruiz-Borrego, M A1 Carrasco, E A1 Turner, N A1 Ciruelos, E M A1 Muñoz, M A1 Bermejo, B A1 Margeli, M A1 Anton, A A1 Kahan, Z A1 Csoszi, T A1 Casas, M I A1 Murillo, L A1 Morales, S A1 Alba, E A1 Gal-Yam, E A1 Guerrero-Zotano, A A1 Calvo, L A1 de-la-Haba-Rodriguez, J A1 Ramos, M A1 Alvarez, I A1 Garcia-Palomo, A A1 Huang-Bartlett, C A1 Koehler, M A1 Caballero, R A1 Corsaro, M A1 Huang, X A1 Garcia-Saenz, J A A1 Chacon, J I A1 Swift, C A1 Thallinger, C A1 Gil-Gil, M K1 HER2-negative K1 Capecitabine K1 Endocrine therapy K1 Hormone receptor-positive K1 Metastatic breast cancer K1 Palbociclib AB Palbociclib plus endocrine therapy (ET) is the standard treatment of hormone receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative, metastatic breast cancer (MBC). However, its efficacy has not been compared with that of chemotherapy in a phase III trial. PEARL is a multicentre, phase III randomised study in which patients with aromatase inhibitor (AI)-resistant MBC were included in two consecutive cohorts. In cohort 1, patients were randomised 1 : 1 to palbociclib plus exemestane or capecitabine. On discovering new evidence about estrogen receptor-1 (ESR1) mutations inducing resistance to AIs, the trial was amended to include cohort 2, in which patients were randomised 1 : 1 between palbociclib plus fulvestrant and capecitabine. The stratification criteria were disease site, prior sensitivity to ET, prior chemotherapy for MBC, and country of origin. Co-primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) in cohort 2 and in wild-type ESR1 patients (cohort 1 + cohort 2). ESR1 hotspot mutations were analysed in baseline circulating tumour DNA. From March 2014 to July 2018, 296 and 305 patients were included in cohort 1 and cohort 2, respectively. Palbociclib plus ET was not superior to capecitabine in both cohort 2 [median PFS: 7.5 versus 10.0 months; adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85-1.50] and wild-type ESR1 patients (median PFS: 8.0 versus 10.6 months; aHR: 1.11; 95% CI: 0.87-1.41). The most frequent grade 3-4 toxicities with palbociclib plus exemestane, palbociclib plus fulvestrant and capecitabine, respectively, were neutropenia (57.4%, 55.7% and 5.5%), hand/foot syndrome (0%, 0% and 23.5%), and diarrhoea (1.3%, 1.3% and 7.6%). Palbociclib plus ET offered better quality of life (aHR for time to deterioration of global health status: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.53-0.85). There was no statistical superiority of palbociclib plus ET over capecitabine with respect to PFS in MBC patients resistant to AIs. Palbociclib plus ET showed a better safety profile and improved quality of life. PB Elsevier YR 2020 FD 2020-12-29 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/16888 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/16888 LA en NO Martin M, Zielinski C, Ruiz-Borrego M, Carrasco E, Turner N, Ciruelos EM, et al. Palbociclib in combination with endocrine therapy versus capecitabine in hormonal receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2-negative, aromatase inhibitor-resistant metastatic breast cancer: a phase III randomised controlled trial-PEARL. Ann Oncol. 2021 Apr;32(4):488-499 DS RISalud RD Apr 7, 2025