Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42340618›Full record

Trial reportBreast cancer (Tokyo, Japan)2026

Quality of life with palbociclib plus tamoxifen in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer: results from PATHWAY, an Asian international, double-blind, randomized phase 3 trial.

Takashi Yamanaka, Joohyuk Sohn, Kazuki Sudo, Hirofumi Mukai, Naohito Yamamoto, Chi-Feng Chung, Yen-Shen Lu, Kyung-Hun Lee, Soo-Chin Lee, Tsutomu Iwasa and 21 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialClinical Trial, Phase IIIMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03423199 (Asian, International, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Trial of Tamoxifen With or Without Palbociclib ± Goserelin in Women With Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03423199 phase3unknown statusnot on this map

Asian, International, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Trial of Tamoxifen With or Without Palbociclib ± Goserelin in Women With Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer

TypeinterventionalSponsorNational Cancer Center, JapanRan2018 to 2025Enrolled180ConditionsBreast NeoplasmsArmsPalbociclib, Placebo, Tamoxifen, Goserelin
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Takashi YamanakaKanagawa Cancer Center, Yokohama, Japan.
Joohyuk SohnYonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kazuki SudoNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Hirofumi MukaiNational Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan.
Naohito YamamotoChiba Cancer Center, Chiba, Japan.
Chi-Feng ChungKoo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yen-Shen LuNational Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Kyung-Hun LeeSeoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Soo-Chin LeeNational University Cancer Institute Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Tsutomu IwasaFaculty of Medicine, Kindai University, Sakai, Japan.
Hiroji IwataAichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
Kenichi WatanabeNational Hospital Organization Hokkaido Cancer Center, Sapporo, Japan.
Kyung Hae JungAsan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Yuko TanabeToranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Seok Yun KangAjou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Hiroyuki YasojimaNational Hospital Organization Osaka National Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Kenjiro AogiNational Hospital Organization Shikoku Cancer Center, Matsuyama, Japan.
Eriko TokunagaNational Hospital Organization Kyusyu Cancer Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
Sung Hoon SimNational Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Republic of Korea.
Yoon Sim YapNational Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Koji MatsumotoHyogo Cancer Center, Akashi, Japan.
Ling-Ming TsengTaipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yoshiko UmeyamaPfizer R&D Japan, Tokyo, Japan.
Emi NoguchiNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Tomomi HataNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Aya KuchibaNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Taro ShibataNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Kenichi NakamuraNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasuhiro FujiwaraNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Kenji TamuraNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Kan YonemoriNational Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. kyonemor@ncc.go.jp.

Funding

Pfizer Inc. Pfizer Inc.
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the Asian international PATHWAY trial, palbociclib-tamoxifen demonstrated improved progression-free survival compared with placebo-tamoxifen in patients with HR+/HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (ABC). This analysis compared quality of life (QoL) between treatment arms.

methodsPre/peri or postmenopausal women with HR+/HER2- ABC were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive palbociclib-tamoxifen or placebo-tamoxifen. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed on day 1 of cycles 1 (baseline), 4, and 7, and at the end of treatment (EOT) using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 questionnaires. Least-square mean (LSM) changes in scores from baseline were calculated. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate time to deterioration (TTD) in the minimally important difference (MID) in the pain subscale.

resultsIn the comparison between treatment arms, no significant differences were observed in LSM changes in scores from baseline in global QoL (cycle 4: 0.70 [95% confidence interval (CI): -5.00, 6.41]; cycle 7: 2.17 [95% CI: -4.14, 8.48]; EOT: -5.19 [95% CI: -11.64, 1.26]). For both the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 functional and symptom subscales, no clinically meaningful differences between treatment arms were found in the LSM changes in scores from baseline. Median TTD in the MID in the pain subscale was 32.5 months (95% CI: 11.7, not estimable) for the palbociclib-tamoxifen arm and 21.2 months (95% CI: 5.5, 43.5) for the placebo-tamoxifen arm (hazard ratio = 0.729 [95% CI: 0.467, 1.138]).

conclusionsThe combination of palbociclib and tamoxifen delayed deterioration in patients' QoL while they experienced reduced risk for disease progression.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03423199; study registration date: February 6, 2018.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsBreast NeoplasmsPiperazinesPyridinesQuality of LifeTamoxifenAdultAgedDouble-Blind MethodErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine KinasesFemaleHumansMiddle AgedReceptors, EstrogenReceptors, ProgesteroneERBB2 protein, humanErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine KinasespalbociclibPiperazinesPyridinesReceptors, EstrogenReceptors, ProgesteroneTamoxifenHR+/HER2−locally advanced or metastatic breast cancerpalbociclibpatient-reported outcomestamoxifen

Identifiers

PMID42340618
PMCPMC13522070

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.