Relevance of timing intake of everolimus (EVE) combined with adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) in patients (pts) with high-risk early breast cancer: Results of a sub-study of the UCBG-UNIRAD trial.
Authors: Laas Enora , Hamy Anne-Sophie , Bachelot Thomas , Lemonnier Jerome , Andre Fabrice , Cameron David A. , Bliss Judith , Chabaud Sylvie , Hardy-Bessard Anne-Claire , Lacroix-Triki Magali , Debled Marc , Campone Mario , Cottu Paul H. , Dalenc Florence , Tredan Olivier , Penault-Llorca Frederique Madeleine , Asselain Bernard , Reyal Fabien , Levi Francis , Giacchetti Sylvie 
Published: May 2024

542 Background: We reported the benefit of taking evening tamoxifen compared to morning/afternoon as adjuvant treatment for high-risk breast cancers in the UNIRAD phase III trial (NCT01805271) (1). Here, we examine the relevance of EVE timing intake in this trial. Methods: 1,277 pts with high-risk HR+/ HER2- primary BC were randomly assigned to adjuvant ET with placebo or EVE (1). Patients prospectively reported in a diary the daily timing for ET and EVE intake among four 6-h slots (06:00 to 11:59 (morning), 12:00 to 17:59 (afternoon), 18:00 to 23:59 (evening), or 24:00 to 05:59 (night). The association between EVE, ET timing and disease-free survival (DFS) was a prespecified secondary endpoint of the trial. Results: EVE timing was recorded by 513 of 632 patients (81.2%). Patients declaring EVE intake in the morning (n= 248, 48 %) or in the afternoon (n=52, 10%) were older than those declaring evening (n=207, 40 %) or night (n=6,1%) intakes ( p<0.001). They were more likely to be postmenopausal (p=0.001) and to take AI rather than tamoxifen (p = 0.03). Only 17 patients (3%) changed EVE intake timing throughout the study. EVE intake dialy times were binned into 2 categories for analyses: morning/afternoon group (n=300) and evening/night group (n = 213). The patients who took morning/afternoon EVE chose another timing for ET in 38% of the cases compared to 17.1% in evening/Night EVE group (p<0.01). The timing of EVE intake was not significantly associated with definitive EVE withdrawal ( p=0.62) in the whole population. Time to EVE withdrawal was significantly longer in the patients taking tamoxifen rather than AI (17.2 vs 10.9 months, p = 0.0047). Prolonged duration of EVE treatment was associated with evening/night intakes of both EVE and tamoxifen, compared to other drug timing modalities (p = 0.04). With a median follow-up of 85months, 15 patients relapsed locally (3%), 55 developed metastases (11%), 36 patients died (7%). Overall, EVE intake timing was not associated with DFS (HR=0.84 [95% CI, 0.53 - 1.35], p=0.4). There was a significant interaction between EVE timing intake and ET type ( P interaction= 0.001). Patients on evening/night EVE combined with tamoxifen had a reduced likelihood of relapse compared to those taking morning/afternoon EVE (HR = 0.17 [0.05- 0.59], p = 0.005). In contrast, no significant EVE effect was found in the AI group (HR = 1.56 [0.92 2.64], p = 0.1). Evening/Night intake of EVE plus tamoxifen was independently associated with DFS (HR 0.13 [0.03-0.6], p = 0.002) after adjustment for age, nodal status, tumor size, ET timing intake, and EVE dose (2.5, 5 or 10 mg). Conclusions: These exploratory results are consistent with a role of circadian rhythm in the efficacy of EVE when given with tamoxifen in pts with high risk early breast cancer. 1. S. Giacchetti et al, Abst 546, ASCO 2023. Clinical trial information: NCT01805271 .