Practical experiences with eribulin in patients with metastatic breast cancer

There is currently no standard therapy for women with metastatic or locally recurrent breast cancer. The microtubule polymerization inhibitor eribulin, approved in March 2011, is the first monochemotherapy with a proven survival benefit and tolerable toxicity in this patient group. Using a retrospective analysis of 27 mostly heavily pretreated patients in two large German breast cancer centers, the efficacy and tolerability of eribulin in daily practice were compared with the results of the pivotal EMBRACE and 301 studies. Despite the patients being older and having more advanced disease, the retrospective analysis showed a comparable progression-free survival of 3.7 months. When eribulin was used in an early-line treatment, the progression-free survival observed was 7 weeks longer compared with use in a late-line therapy. The differences in tolerability were not significant. Overall, the results confirm that eribulin represents an effective and tolerable therapeutic option for metastatic breast cancer in daily practice.