We are pleased to announce that the final results for the REVERT trial have been published in the CANCERS journal. This study, sponsored by MEDSIR and funded by Eisai, was a research initiative of Dr. Javier Cortés and led by Dra. Elena López-Miranda.
The aim of the REVERT trial was to “revert” the acquired resistance to endocrine treatment in patients with hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced breast cancer, who had progressed on previous treatment with inhibitors of aromatase.
Endocrine therapy in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors is a standard of care for HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients. However, endocrine resistance is a common outcome after prolonged cancer treatment and consecutive treatments are, in general terms, limited. The optimal treatment after progression on a CDK4/6 inhibitor remains unknown in this patient population. Thus, the development of new therapeutic strategies is of upmost importance. Here we published the results of REVERT clinical study that aimed to reverse the resistance to hormonal treatment. According to previous published data, adding the drug eribulin to hormonal treatment may sensitize the tumor to the hormonal treatment due to switch of cancer cell phenotype from more aggressive one (type B) to more treatable one (type A).
Patients participating in REVERT randomized clinical trial received eribulin +/− aromatase inhibitor and were stratified by prior CDK 4/6 inhibitor treatment. The trial was terminated in March 2021, with 22 enrolled patients. The response rate was 26.7% in the eribulin + aromatase inhibitor arm and 28.6% patients had an objective response in the eribulin arm. The difference between the study arms was not significant. The addition of inhibition of aromatase to eribulin failed to show improvement also in other efficacy endpoints. Importantly, a significant interaction between the treatment arm and previous CDK4/6i treatment was observed. Overall, the toxicity profile was consistent with the known safety profile of eribulin.
In conclusion, the outcomes of this study open a new door for further investigation, since the results suggests that the patients treated with hormonal therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors may have a further clinical benefit iif eribulin is added to the therapy. Importantly, no additional unexpected side effects were reported with this drug combination.
"Findings of REVERT support further investigation of eribulin in combination with endocrine treatment in HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors andCDK4/6 inhibitors. Here reported results have a great value and will serve to design further prospective clinical study," said Dra. López-Miranda.
We would like to deeply thank patients and families who kindly participated in this study. Please contact us if you would like more information about the REVERT trial!
